L::O::V::E
by Dreamers Deranged
Summary: -HS AU- 'You say that you just realized that we were in a continuous cycle, and I believe that. But I also believe what I saw. Because you said it yourself. You wanted to be with her. Now I'm breaking the chain and I don't love you anymore.'
1. A word before the prolouge

**XXX**

**Dedicated to:**

**Allan pike**

**XXX**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is or has antything to so with Naruto. Nor do I own any song material or any other copyrighted things that might be mentioned further on in the story.

Author's Note: Under the advice of my beta who won't shut the hell up about my previous author's note, I've rewritten it.

I am Lalaith Weasley, and I am part of the writing troupe called "The Dreamers of Dreams". For more information on this writing troupe please click the link above to view the profile. It's pretty rubbish though.

This Disclaimer/Author's Note applies to this and all future chapters.

This fanfic is classified AU High School. 

Warnings are: suicidal thoughts and actions, prostitution, drug abuse, rape, amongst other upleasantries. Now seeing as how this will be the one and only author's note, be wary of upcoming chapters if none of this has been seen. Read with caution.

That's it. Review if you like. Flame if you like.

If there are any questions that you might have (like any background info that isn't put into the fanfic and you would like to know about) send review or message stating your question and I will answer it. Even if your just being an ass, you will get a reply.

And because Fanfiction (dot) net is wary of deleting fanfics with chapters that are only author's notes, I wrote a has-nothing-to-do-with-anything skit. 

xxx

"All the world's a stage and we are the players."

All eyes landed on Shino.

"Uh... what?" Shikamaru asked. 

"Just rehearsing my lines before the show," he replied. 

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. That's not weird."

"It's not even a show," Temari pointed out. "It's a story."

"Both have audiences, correct?" Shino questioned.

Temari shifted under his gaze. "Not really..."

"You ever wonder why the green room isn't green?" Naruto wondered out loud.

"Will you shut up?! You've already asked that!" Sakura growled at him.

"But no one's answered me yet!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE NO ONE CARES!"

"I CARE!"

"NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT!"

"I kind of care," Hinata muttered. 

"Hinata likes Naruto!" 

"She does not!" exclaimed Kiba.

"Kiba likes Hinata!"

"He does not!" shouted Tenten.

"Tenten likes Kiba!"

"Nobody likes Kiba!" yelled Gaara. "Now shut up."

Everyone inside the green room was quiet. The only thing heard was the ticking of the clock on the wall. Until...

"You ever wonder why the green room isn't green?"

(Outside the green room)

Kakashi approached the door to inform them that the "show" would soon be taking place. He reached for the handle but before he could turn, a deafining crash was heard from the other side. Followed by what sounded like punches and random objects being thrown back and forth. 

'Now any sensible and responsible adult would barge in there and put a stop to whatever's going on in there immediately,' Kakashi thought. 

He walked away.

'Too bad there's not one of those around.'

(Inside the green room)

Naruto layed knocked out on the floor after he failed to dodge a flower vase because he had just dodged a lamp thrown by Sasuke.

"Well there goes one of the main cycle members," said Sasuke.

"It didn't help that you threw the lamp," Shikamaru told him.

"He should have just stayed quiet."

Collective sighs were heard around the room.

Suddenly, Kankuro thought of something. 

"Aren't green rooms only for talk shows?"

xxx

That's all then. Click the next button if you're interested. If not, then thanks anyway for considering this fanfic just by clicking onto this first page.

Mad love to you all,

Lalaith Weasley

A Dreamer of Dreams


	2. Prolouge: Enter Chorus

_**"This is the very ecstacy of love;  
**__**Whose violent property fordoes itself,  
**__**And leads the will to desperate undertakings,  
**__**As oft as any passion under heaven  
**__**That does afflict our nature."**_

- "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" (Act II, Scene I)

xxx  
Prolouge: Enter Chorus  
xxx

The pounding music of the club rang throughout her head in the most violent way possible. The flashing lights brought her dizziness back. Her stomach began cramping. Whatever it was he had given her for tonight, it was definitley coming back at her. She pushed her way through the mob of people on the dance floor in a desperate attempt to get to the bathroom. No, she couldn't make it, it was too far away. Not far from her starting point, she doubled over and felt the water and bile come up and spew out. Ignoring the voices filled with both concern and complaint, she continued going through the dance floor.

The pain in her head continued to grow. 'Damn it all to Hell,' she thought. 'Where the fuck did he go? I ask him to do one simple fucking thing for me and he off and dissappears. What the fuck?!'

A thought ran through her mind.

'He went out through the back exit didn't he? I don't remember. Did he tell me he was going out for some air? Something about a bad trip? Damn it all, what the fuck happened? I can't remember...'

She made it through the mob and staggered to the wall. She closed her eyes and let herself fall against it. She cleared her throat and winced at the pain.

'I want to go home... I think he went out... where the fuck is the exit...'

She used the wall she was leaning against to lead her towards the back exit. The lights began to make her eyes water. She couldn't see well anymore, the smell of everything and everyone heightened, only making her dizziness worse. The cramping sensation began again. She started staggering faster towards the door.

'No way in Hell am I puking in here again...'

She threw herself onto the door and let herself drop into the outside world. The cold night air certainly was a breathtaking relief after being trapped in that club for God knows how long. No time to think about that though, she crumpled behind a dumpster and let out anything that could possibly be in her. Nothing but water, that's all that should be in her if she wasn't at school. Or on a date, but even on those she never made the men buy her anything edible.

Coughing up the last of it, she wiped her mouth clean and sat against the wall. She kept her eyes closed and breathed in heavily. Once her breathing settled she stood up shakily, eyes still closed, and called out her companion's name.

No response.

'He came out didn't he? I don't know...' she started to cry. 'I don't want to go back in. I want to go home...'

She started to take steps forward. Small steps, that way there's less chance of her falling. She hugged herself in a futile attempt of keeping herself warm. With tears still streaming out of her closed eyes, she continued walking down the alley. She was doing fine until she tripped.

Her small shriek of surprise did nothing to protect her from the ground below. The concrete had scraped the skin across her left cheek and left both of her elbows bleeding. The fall caused her hair to fall out of it's updo and a noticeable tear was now left in her new dress. The pain and the scare made her cry all the more. She dragged herself away from where she tripped by only a few inches. She lifted herself to her knees and turned herself around to see the object of her accident.

She opened her eyes and rubbed the tears away. She forced her eyes to focus in the dimly lit alley. When they had, her eyes widened in horror as she gasped for breath before letting out a piercing scream that was heard throughout the downtown district.


	3. Act I, Scene I

xxx  
Act I, Scene I: Three Months Previous  
xxx

Haruno Sakura's eyes flashed open to the sound of her alarm. She quickly sat straight up, uncovered herself, and slid out of bed one leg at a time. She stretched herself out before shutting off the annoying beeping sound. She then began what was her normal routine for the last three years. Everyday at exactly five in the morning, she would wake up, make her bed, then for the next fifteen minutes go through a series of routine stretches. Between five fifteen and five-thirty, Sakura would pick out her uniform for the day and iron it to make sure there were no wrinkles or unnecassary creases. She would then dress it on a standing manican in order to ensure that between the time of her shower and her actual dressing no wrinkles would appear.

At exactly five-thirty she slipped her bathrobe on and walked to her own bathroom. During her shower she would scrub every inch of her skin, making sure that there was not one speck of dirt on her. After she deemed her skin worthy of being called clean, she would scrub her finger and toe nails to the point of beyond clean. Next came her hair, where she measured the right amount of shampoo needed for each follical. Right after the shampoo came, of course, the conditioner. Ten minutes later she redressed in her bathrobe and took the dreaded few second walk to the scale on the bathroom tile.

She scrunched her eyes shut and carefully stepped onto the machine one foot at a time. She lowered her head down and opened her eyes. The number she saw made her cry out in frustration.

"I haven't lost anything since summber break started," she sighed to herself. "What could I be doing wrong?"

She stepped off the scale and turned her back to blow dry her hair.

"I guess I'm just going to have to be stricter with my dieting."

After blowdrying her hair to her standards, Sakura brushed her teeth, and scrubbed her face one more time for good measure. At five fifty she walked back to her room, undressed her manican and dressed her self in her school uniform: red plaid skirt, long sleeved white button up shirt, black vest with gold buttons, red bow neck tab, and black knee socks. She went over to her vanity table and applied her make-up with a practiced hand and chose a headband to wear for the day.

By six o'clock she left her room and was already in the kitchen. She rustled amongst the cabinets in search of her "breakfast". She found her bottles of diet pills, vitamins, and mineral supplements. She grabbed a glass of water, but before she was able to swallow down the assortement of pills before her she thought of something she hadn't question before.

'Is it these that are making me not loose weight?!' she thought frantically. 'That's not right though is it? I mean, diet pills are supposed to make you lose weight, right? But these other things? Are they like, high in calories or something that I don't know? Well, I do consider it to be an entire meal... Maybe I should lay off of them for a while... wouldn't hurt, really.'

She placed the diet pills in her mouth and followed it with the glass of water. She put everything away made her way for the front door. The sight of her mother asleep on the sofa paused her exit. Sakura made the motions of continuing on her way but her conscious wouldn't let her. She went over to where her mother was, cleaned up the empty glasses surrounding her and all the empty bottles. She went into the linen closet and retrieved a sheet to cover her with. She placed a kiss on the sleeping woman's forehead and walked out the door.

'And dad didn't come home last night either,' she thought as she entered her car and turned the ignition. It was six thirteen. Sakura's schedule was a little off, but she would have to deal. Right now she had to pick up Ino and make it before zero period started. She has never been tardy to the choir before and she wasn't planning to be any time soon.

xxx

The alarm that went off in Yamanaka Ino's room, was picked up off of it's night stand and thrown in the opposite direction. Seven minutes later, Ino's blonde head poked from beneath her comforter with a loud groan. She snuggled deeper into the warmth of her blankets and in a short while drudged out of bed. She stretched herself out and headed over to her closet where she pulled out her uniform and sauntered into the bathroom. After a quick shower, she towel dried her hair, grabbed it in her trade mark ponytail and lined her eyes lightly with eyeliner. Finishing off in the bathroom she trotted down into the kitchen where her mother had a breakfast set for her.

"Yum!" she exclaimed and sat before the table. She glanced at the wall clock behind her and groaned. "Sakura's gonna be here anytime now. Well, I'll just eat what I can."

With that she began to eat as much as she could without rushing herself.

A few minutes later Ino heard Sakura honk her horn outside. Ino tossed her dishes in the sink, grabbed her bag off the counter, and leapt out the door. She waved to Sakura through the windshield before entering the car.

"Morning," she greeted the pink haired girl.

"Morning," Sakura returned.

"How's your day going so far?"

"Could be better."

"What happened?" Ino's voice held concern for her best friend and rival.

"Nothing out of the norm," Sakura explained.

"Hn." Ino knew that she clearly knew that she didn't want to say anything. She decided to change the topic to a subject that both girls loved talking about. "Guess what!"

Sakura looked at her friend sideways and cautiously asked, "What?"

"Sasuke's gonna ask me out today!"

"And you know this how?"

"I've got a plan."

"And you're plan would be?"

"I'm not going to tell you that!"

"Why?"

"Because, I want the getting there to be a surprise. But I thought that I should just tell you the outcome now so that it won't hurt our friendship later."

"I don't know about that Ino-pig. We still have yet to see who he'll choose in the end."

"Oh come one Billboard Brow, it's no competition to who he _will_ choose."

Sakura sideways glanced at her love rival one more time. "We'll see."

xxx

"Hinata, wake up."

Hinata turned over in her sleep towards the voice. She opened her pale lavendar eyes to see her cousin sitting at the edge of her bed in his school uniform with his long hair pulled back.

"I still can't believe that they let you keep your hair that long," she said with a sleepy smile.

Neji returned the smile. "I guess it helps a little to be a Hyuuga."

"Hn. That doesn't explain Shikamaru."

Neji thought about that. "His hair isn't that long."

"It's long enough to be pulled back," Hinata pointed out.

"Who cares, it's too early to think about stupid things," he laughed.

Hinata joined in his laughter. "Okay. What time is it?"

"It's almost seven. You should get dressed."

Hinata nodded in response and sat up as Neji stood up and headed for the door.

"Do you want your dad to drop us off?" he asked before leaving her room.

Hinata looked down into her comforter. "Not really. Not after last night."

Neji remembered what he had told her last night, sadly enough. "So then I guess we're walking."

Hinata looked up quickly at her cousin with concern written in her eyes. "I'm sorry Neji, I don't mean that you have to go by my opinion. If you don't want to walk I could put up with father for a ten minute drive."

Neji smiled at her reassuringly. "No, no. It's perfectly fine with me. And anyway, I don't think I really want to be in the same square foot as him right now."

Hinata bounced out of bed and ran to her cousin to give him a hug. He returned her hug without any hesitation.

"Thank you, Neiji," she said into him. "For being on my side."

"I wouldn't dream of being on any other side." He pulled away from her a bit. "You should get dressed if we're going to walk."

She smiled up at him. "Okay!" She crossed over to her dresser and started pulling out her uniform pieces. "Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to see Naruto on the way to school this morning," she murmured dreamily.

Neji's smile faltered. "Maybe," he agreed unenthusiastically as he closed her bedroom door.

xxx

Rock Lee's bowl haired head poked through one of the many bushes lining the sidewalk.

'There she is!' he thought to himself. 'One of if not "the" most beautiful girls in the world.'

He watched in silence as Tenten ran up to the Hyuuga heiress and her cousin to give Hinata a huge bear hug hello. Such a hug led to Hinata letting go of Neji's hand, which he didn't look to happy about. Lee stayed in his hiding place as he watched the trio continue on their walk to school.

'I must be able to find the courage in which to put Gai-sensei's advice into action! But just being in her presence is so overwhelming! I will not give up though! I will-'

"Yo, Lee!"

Lee spilled out onto the sidewalk. He turned around and glared at the one who had made him fall over himself.

"Kiba! What is the matter with you?!"

Kiba gave an innocent looking smile. "Just wondering how long you were going to be staring at Tenten."

Lee turned a light shade of pink. "That is none of your concern!"

"Yeah, whatever, be offended later. Lookit, you should just ask her out already, get her off my back for awhile."

"How could you say such a thing?! She is like a poem that was written by God himself. A beauty that rivals Venus herself. A-"

"Alright, I get it. Let's go."

Kiba dragged Lee by his shirt collar towards the other side of the street. Hinata saw the two of them approach her party and stopped for them to catch up. After saying their morning pleasantries the group of friends continued with their journey to school. Lee being silent unless addressed.

xxx

Uchiha Sasuke finished his bowl of rice and left his dishes in a neat pile on the kitchen table for the maid to clean. He walked back upstairs to retrieve his bag for school. He paused only once in front of the hallway mirror for a quick overview of his uniform. Slacks presses, vest pressed, shirt spotless, cuffs buttones, tie straight. He went back downstairs and made his way to the door.

"Do you want a ride?"

He turned to the direction of the voice. Itachi viewed him from the sitting room sofa, his own school bag on the floor in front of him.

"Don't you have classes?" Sasuke asked him.

"That's why I asked," Itachi explained. "Give you a ride before I went to them. Thought, I don't know... brotherly bonding?"

Sasuke regared his brother carefully. "Okay."

xxx

Neko watched her owner from a high distance. She knew well enough by now that at any moment he would stir, glance at the alarm clock in front of him, topple out of bed, curse the alarm for not working, followed by other random bits of chaos. It wasn't that she wasn't an odd sort of intelligent cat. She just knew habit.

And it was the bad habits that didn't change easily.

Uzumaki Naruto stired in his sleep. His blue eyes opened only a fraction before closing themselves again rather than face the sunlight coming in through the blinds. He stretched and turned over in his bed. He looked over at the clock on his desk. The time was still blurry, so he just blinked his eyes a few times and waited for his vision to clear on its own. When it had and he saw that time for what it really was, he freaked out beneath his sheets in what appeared to be a cross between getting out of bed and burrowing in deeper to avoid the fact he had less then ten minutes before school started. He fell onto the less then comfy carpeted floor and made his way to the alarm clock.

"You stupid ass alarm clock! What the hell did I even get you for if you're not gonna wake me up in time?!" he screamed at the inanimate object, shaking it the whole time.

'It's not the clock's fault,' Neko wished she could tell her owner. 'It's yours for not turning the actual alarm part of it on.'

Naruto slammed the clock back onto his desk and began his daily morning ritual of looking for his uniform pieces. He found his vest first, then his tie inside one of his socks, the only collar shirt he could find had a ramen stain in the front.

'But the vest will cover that up no problem!' he thought reassuringly.

His shoes were by the door, so no problem there. He already had one sock, where was the other?

"I need to get a dresser," he told the cat sitting above him. "Or something, 'cause this huge ass thing isn't helping much." He kicked the elongated tub where he kept his clothing.

Neko looked to the side of her. There was a sock. She extended her paw and pushed it over where it landed onto Naruto's head. He lifted it off and gave a happey smile up towards the cat.

"Thanks, Neko! I owe you one."

'Just put some pants on,' the cat thought.

That was the one item that Naruto could not find.

"How the hell is that possible!" He racked his brain, but he couldn't figure out where they would be. "Oh no! Mrs. Maeda took them when she offered to do my wash didn't she?! Dammit all!"

He continued to rumage through the clothes that had just been thrown out of his holding bin.

"I hope I don't get in trouble for this," he said to no one in particular as he pulled on a pair of black jeans. He didn't bother to tuck in his shirt or buttoning the bottom of his vest. His tie was also loosley put on. He'd have to fix his appearace later.

He rushed out of his bedroom and into the kitchen part of his mobile home. He quickly ate a left over half of a chocolate bar and a drink of milk. He shoved his shoes on and grabbed his board.

"I'll see you later, Neko!" he shouted to the cat. He locked the door from the inside and slammed it shut.

The cat jumped down from her watching spot and strolled out into the main room.

'You're such a dork,' she thought as she looked at the front door. She went back into the bedroom and jumped onto Naruto's bed. She burrowed into the still warm blankets and started her day of napping.

'But you're my dork.'

xxx

Naruto urged his board to go faster through the mobile home park and into the suburban part of the city. It was quicker this way to get to the main street, but it was a little more dangerous. If only Naruto remembered to avoid one house, he would be perfectly fine. Unfortunately, since he was in such a panic, he forgot to detour around Kiba's house entirely.

It wasn't that Akamaru didn't like Naruto. And it wasn't that Naruto disliked Akamaru. It was Akamaru's nose that was the problem. It was because that Naruto had Neko's scent on him most of the time drove the K-9 a little crazy. Not crazy like "I'm going to rip you apart like a rabid dog" crazy. More like "You smell like a cat, you smell like a cat, I'm going to tackle you down and teach you to smell like a cat" crazy. So when Naruto grinded against the sidewalk in front of Kiba's house unintentionally, it wasn't too big of a surpirse to see a dog bigger than Naruto himself come running out from behind the house.

"Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit..." the blonde boy chanted under his breath as he urged himself to skate faster.

He went through more alley ways than he should have, tipping over trashcans and other random things to block the dog's path. Nothing would shake him off. After what seemed like ages of being chased around, Naruto finaly made it onto the main street. He started for the direction of the school, hoping that something along the way would divert the dog from his original goal. Just a little further down and the school would be within eyesight. As he continued down the street he began to see the other students on their way. They all cleared the way for both him and Akamaru. As he neared the school he began the students that he knew. Temari and Kankuro moved out of his way. Gaara didn't. Naruto had to swerve around him. Akamaru halted for the first time during that morning chase. Being near Gaara made the dog a little more than nervous. Being nervous for the moment, however did nothing to stop him from running past the red head and continue after Naruto.

Even though Akamaru had paused behind him, Naruto didn't slow down. He kept trying to go faster, he even knocked down Shikamaru who was riding his own board alongside a walking Chouji. When he approached another group of students nearing the school's opposite street, he instantly recognized the tallest of the boys.

"Kiba!" he called out. "Kiba! Call off your dog!"

Kiba laughed at the sight in front of him. "Why would I want to do that? This is fun!"

"Kiba," Hinata turned to plead to him. "Please, call him off."

Kiba looked down into the face of the girl by his side. He felt his smile fade away and sighed. "Fine." He stuck his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and blew a whistle to attract the dog's attention.

Naruto turned his head to look at the scene. He gave a triumphant sort of chuckle as he watched the dog stop and look back at his owner. As he turned his head he didn't realize that he was already crossing the street, all he saw was Uchiha Itachi's car brake in front of the school trying to avoid a collision with the blonde boy. Naruto's board hit the front tire and he himself ended up sliding over the hood and onto the sidewalk. Itachi climbed halfway out of his window and looked over at the boy sprawled on the cement.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm... okay..." Naruto groaned and raised his arm to prove his statement. "I'm fine."

Sasuke exited his brother's car and looked down at the figure by his feet.

"You're such a loser," he told the boy and walked into the school as the first bell rang.

Hinata was the first to reach Naruto and help him up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked him again.

"Yeah, yeah," he reassured her. "It'll take a lot more than that to take me down!" He smiled down at the girl and she blushed at it.

"Nice fall back there," Neji teased.

"You should have just let Akamaru tackle you," Kiba told him. "Not like your cat intrests him that much."

"It would have taken him long enough to lose interest," Naruto shot back. "Where'd he go?"

"I sent him back home," Kiba replied, using a tone that said not to demand an explanation on how that was possible.

"Here," Shikamaru handed his board back. "You can be so troublesome sometimes."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Itachi asked him one more time.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Naruto replied. "Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, this kind of stuff happens to him all the time," Tenten put in.

"Alright then," Itachi said. "If you're sure." He climbed back into his seat, started his car, and drove off.

Shikamaru put Naruto's arm over his shouler and helped the blonde inside the building. It would be awhile before he lost the limp he just received. The others followed them inside in a rush, hoping that they wouldn't make it into homeroom after the late bell.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	4. I, ii

xxx  
Scene II: "Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still..."  
xxx

The Courtyard was the social hub for the majority of the Senior class. It was the place where they hung out durning their break and ate during their lunch period. Unless it was raining of course. Flower beds and rose bushes outlined the squared area located at the heart of the school. Red brick walkways shaped the triangular sections of grass that pointed to the fountain in the center.

On this lovely fall afternoon, Lee sat at the opposing side of the fountain where Tenten and Sakura were having their own lunch. He silently sipped at his juice box whilst eavesdropping on the girls.

"I still can't believe that was her great plan, Sakura was telling the brown haired girl. "I was actually pretty worried about it yesterday when she told me about it in the car. She just seemed so condfident that he would actually go out with her. And it turned out to be nothing more than her trying to get him to ask her for a study date! As if Sasuke needs to study for anything."

Tenten finished chewing the food in her mouth and swallowed. "I would think he would have to for some things. He is only human, Sakura."

Sakura looked at the girl as though she had just spoke some sort of great blasphemy. "But Sasuke is great at everything! He's the best! Top student, top athlete, student council president-"

"Alright, I get it..."

Sakura looked at her friend hard, forgetting about the bento in her lap. "You know, Tenten, you're one of the few girls who don't have any intrest in Sasuke romantically... Why is that?"

Tenten shrugged as she took a swig of juice. "I don't know... To me he seems... kind of creepy..."

"What?!" Sakura cried. "How could you possible think that?"

"Well, like you said. He's best at everything. That's kind of creepy. Being that perfect at everything is just kind of creepy."

"You think being perfect is creepy?" Sakura snapped.

"Well yeah. I mean people aren't supposed to be that perfect. It's just... not natural."

Sakura's bento dropped to the floor and stayed there as she stood up suddenly and stormed off.

"Sakura!" Tenten shouted.

Tenten stood and tried to go after the girl, but Sakura looked back and gave her friend such a glare that Tenten dare not go near her anymore.

"What did I say?" She cried out to her as she continued her walking away. "Sakura!"

She continued to watch the pink haired girl storm into the school building and leave her standing in confusion.

"What did I do wrong?" she asked herself, worry all too obvious in her voice.

Lee stood up from his sitting position and walked a few steps closer towards Tenten's turned back. He could aske her what was wrong, she would tell him (even though he already knew), and he would have his chance of comforting her and showing just how much she meant to him.

Tenten turned around and faced the bushy browed boy. "Oh. Hey, Lee."

Lee's brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to say the words that he had imagined him saying to her. Instead, he said, "I have a juice box.", and held up the carton still in his hand.

Tenten looked at him oddly and tilted her head a little to the side. Lee's face turned red. He turned away from Tenten, stalked back to the fountain, grabbed his stuff, and left the courtyard.

"I messed up again!' he thought. 'I must make this work though. I will not have a replay of what happened last time. But now she probably thinks I'm some sort of loser. That is just great.'

He walked a bit faster to reach the school doors. Soon he went through them and went to find Gai-sensei.

xxx

Tenten sat in English not thinking of anything at all. She didn't think about the way Sakura had stormed away during their conversation or the way Lee had spazzed before the lunch period was over. Nope, Tenten's mind was filled by only one thing. And that was Kiba standing in front of the class presenting his English project.

She wasn't exactly sure what his report was on, but she really did like the way his voice sounded in a foreign language. She wasn't completely sure when it had happened. When she became smitten with the boy standing in front of her. She just knew that one day, when she had discovered that out of everyone's presence, she preferred Kiba's more.

At first she thought nothing much of it. Maybe it was just that he was a good friend and nothing more, she thought. Soon though, she began noticing more of the things the boy did. After that, she loved everything about him, including his faults. He was no Uchiha Sasuke, but that was what she liked the most. He was good at things, but he wasn't freakishly great at them. Normal. That's what Kiba was. Kiba was normal.

She only had one problem with him though. Tenten knew that Kiba would do anything, absolutley anything, for Hinata.

The Hyuuga heiress had Kiba's heart twisted around her finger and didn't even know it.

Tenten often thought about the reasons why Kiba would go for someone like Hinata over someone like herself. Okay, so she wasn't better than her at every class, but she was stronger than the fragile pale girl. Her figure was better, her skin color was healthy, she wasn't a depressed wrist slitting emo.

The only thing she could think of was Hinata's wealth. The fact that she could afford any name brand anytime she wanted. A shallow and petty reason to like someone, but it was better for Tenten to believe this than to actually think that Kiba liked Hinata for... well, Hinata.

'If I could afford a name brand outfit,' Tenten thought to herself as Kiba went back to his desk without even glancing at her, 'then I'm sure Kiba would notice me as more than just a friend.'

xxx

"To be completely honest, I wasn't listening to any of the presentations," Tenten explained as she and Kiba walked down the hallway together after class.

"That's great," the boy growled. "I just wanted one opinion of how I did."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "If it's any consolation, you looked like you did really well."

"I don't think that the same thing, Tenten."

Kiba stopped walking as he saw the most beautiful black haired girl come towards them. He gave her a warm smile as she stopped herself in front of them.

"How was English?" was what Hinata greeted them with.

"Fine," Tenten said simply.

"A nuisance," Kiba countered.

Hinata frowned. "Did you not do well on your report, Kiba?"

"I don't know. Tenten wasn't listening," Kiba answered.

"I said I was sorry," Tenten half mumbled.

Hinata gave Kiba a small smile and grabbed his hand. "I'm sure you did fine," she told him as she squeezed the hand she held encourigingly. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he replied as he took his hand back silently declaring never to wash it again. Which was stupid to think because of course he would later on in the day.

"Come on, Hinata, we got gym," Tenten reminded the girl.

"Right. Good luck in physics," she told Kiba as she started to walk off with Tenten.

"Why? What's in physics?" he called after her.

"Just review and a practice test for tomorrow, but good luck anyway!" She threw him a smile and a wave goodbye before continuing off to her next class.

Kiba waved back, but she couldn't see it.

x

As he sat in his physics, Kiba was looking out of the window more than paying attention to whatever it was Anko-sensei was saying. He couldn't really see Gai-sensei's class from there, which meant he really couldn't see Hinata, but that didn't stop him from looking. He kept replaying their goodbye in the hallway not that long ago.

'That smile...' He replayed it again and studied it. 'Her smiles... they're still not completely natural yet. But I have to admit, she has come a long way from what she was like four years ago.'

He rememebered the two months she was out of school and locked away at the Hyuuga Estate after the funeral. He was the only one who continued visiting her. Not a lot of the students were comftorable being around her. The entire first month she would cry in his arms and say "I'm sorry" over and over. The second month, she was silent. She didn't speak at all.

A broken doll. That was how he described her.

Then one day she snuck into the kitchens and started to hack away at her hair with a cooking knife. When Kiba had stumbled upon the scene, Hinata was slashing at the air with the tool at the servants who tried to get near her. He watched as her father walked into the scene and Hinata fall backwards as she saw him approach her. He reached down and took the instrument out of her hands and handed it to one of the cooks.

"It should have been you," he said as he walked out of the room.

Tears formed from her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Everyone that had been involved left now that there was no reason to deal with her. Kiba went up to her and took her by the hand. He led her back up to her room and sat her down at the desk. He grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer and began to even out her hair.

"I hope I don't do too bad of a job," he tried to joke with her.

Honestly, he didn't expect a reply back. So when Hinata spoke for the first time in a long time it was a shock to hear her voice.

"Kiba..."

He paused his scissor action and gulped. He didn't respond right away, he wasn't sure if she really did speak or if he had just imagined it.

"Yes?" he responded.

"How's school?" she asked.

"It's good," he said unsure about what was going to happen next.

"I think... I think I want to go back."

Kiba was at a loss of what to say. "That... That would be great."

"Really?" She sounded almost hopeful.

"Yeah. It'll be so good to see you there again. Everyday like that."

She turned her head to look at her friend. "Thank you."

'That was the day that I promised myself to make you happy again. To fix that broken doll, that was what I wanted...'

"Kiba."

Kiba snapped out of his reverie. "What?" he asked the boy next to him.

"You should pay attention to this," Shino said. "I know you have been having some issues with this section."

"Yeah, whatever..." He turned his attention back to the window.

Shino shook his head at his friend, but did not make to reprimand him again.

xxx

"Home sweet home," Neji commented dryly as both him and Hinata walked through the front door.

The mansion was eerily quiet, but then again when wasn't it.

'It's too empty,' Hinata thought everytime she walked in after school. 'I wonder what it would be like to have an actual family waiting for you to get home.'

Neji pulled his hair band down from the nape of his neck so that it only grabbed onto the ends of his long hair. "I don't think your dad's home," he told his cousin.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't," he heard her say. "I'm going to go take a bath, okay?"

"Yeah, go ahead, you don't have to ask me."

"I know," she said while walking away. "But just thought I'd let you know."

He watched her form retreat up the stairs and out of his sight. He stood in the entrance hall, not really sure what to do.

'First things first,' he thought, 'change out of this uniform.'

He went up the staircase to the second floor and turned into the right wing where his, Hinata's and a guest bedroom was. The other two rooms on that side were a washroom and a bathroom. The left wing of the second floor had the library and music room.The third floor was where his uncle's bedroom was. Along with his study, two more guest bedrooms, an art room, and Hanabi's room.

When Neji entered his room, he hung his bag on his desk chair. As he did so, he noticed a note on the surface. He picked it up. It read:

_Neji,_

_I will be gone for the remainder of the week. I expect to be home by Saturday afternoon. The servants have been dismissed for the rest of the day and will return to their work tomorrow._

_Hyuuga Hiashi_

'He should really leave things like this to his daughter instead of me. Asshole...'

He crumpled up the paper and threw it into the waste basket he kept underneath his desk. He opened his dresser and retrieved a pair of black casual pants and a loos fitting navy blue button up shirt. He quickly changed clothing, leaving the two top and cuff buttons undone, and threw his worn uniform into his clothes bin. He left his room and made his way to the bathroom door. He could hear Hinata singing on the other side. He knocked.

"Yes?" Hinata's voice was a little muffled.

"It's me," he said.

"Oh, Neji. Do you need something."

He heard her the water splash around unsettling, he guessed she was already prepared to end her bath early just for him.

"No, it's not that," he said suddenly. "You're dad left again. He says he'll be back Saturday and the maids and staff are gone for the rest of the day."

No sound came from the otherside.

"Hinata?" he called through the door.

"Neji, that is the greatest news ever! We should have a party or something!" There was an intense sound of splashing following her words.

Neji chuckled a little at his cousin's enthusiasm. "Really? You want a party?"

Hinata thought about that while she soaked. "Hn... no, not really... You remember what happened last time."

Neji rolled his eyes. "Only too clearly. You want to order in or attempt to make something here?"

Hinata gave a mock offended scoff. "I can cook, you just have a weak stomach."

Rather than fight about it, Neji gave in. "So pizza?"

There was a bit of a reserved silence before Hinata responded. "Yeah, okay."

"Basement?" he asked.

"Like always."

"Alright then," said Neji. "Finish your bath."

He trotted downstairs and into the living room. Picked up the phone and ordered what they would need for a night in. Neji was estatic. No uncle, no help, just him and the one person he loved more than anyone else in the world. He knew that it was a bit on the illegal side in many places, but Neji didn't care. He wanted Hinata as more than just a cousin, he wanted her also as a lover. There were several points in the time from when he met her to when he realized he loved her to mark where it could have started. When she came to him in the middle of the night because of a bad memory turned nightmare. Or when it was her turn to hold him when he told her how he felt about the whole reason he was living with her family. Or when he started to help her with her cutting issue. Or when he first saw how his uncle treated her. Or even when he saw her for the first time and thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. It didn't matter for whatever reason it was, he loved her and that was all that mattered to him.

"Earth to Neji."

Neji shook his head and looked up. He had been so lost in thought that he didn't even notice that he had walked down into the basement and was sitting on the moth eaten couch. Hinata was dressed in her purple pajama bottoms and a black spagethi top. She was carrying the pizza and a six pack of coke,

"I must have been in the tub for awhile if I came down right when the delivery guy came by" she asked. "What were you thinking about?" She put the box down on the coffee table in front of the small TV.

"Nothing too big," Neji said quickly. "Just that damn physics test."

"Why is everyone so worked up about that?" She handed him a can and sat back beside him.

"I don't know," he said and put his arm around her.

xxx

Hinata sat in between Sakura and Ino in homeroom. While the two girls chattered away, Hinata was reading out of her literature book. Kakashi-sensei was always late to the first class of the day, perfect time to finish up the remnants of her homework that she decided to skip last night.

"Insult a dog and he'll come running," Sakura said sweetly.

"Ouch, Sakura. That hurt."

Hinata looked up in a hurry, instantly recognizing who it was the voice belonged to. Naruto stood in front of the three girls' desks. Hinata noticed instantly that he wasn't wearing his tie, or that his shirt was buttoned all the way to the top. His exposed skin made the pale girl's skin actually seem normal.

"Think you want to put your tie on," Ino warned. "Or do you want another Saturday school?"

Naruto's expression turned to annoyance. "That is such a bullshit punishment. It was either those jeans or come to school without pants."

"Ew," was all that Sakura said.

Naruto smiled like a cheshire cat and leaned against the pink haired girl's desk. "Come on, Sakura, I know you want to see me without my pants on."

Sakura slammed her own Lit book ontop of his head. "What are you stupid?! You know damn well I like Sasuke."

"Ow..." the blonde whined. "Yeah I know, they know, everyone in this room knows. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if people overseas knew."

Hinata chuckled at the boy and at Sakura's growing frustration with him.

"Well if you know that, then what the hell are you doing here?" Sakura growled.

"Hn... I'll tell ya if you answer me one question!" Naruto offered.

Sakura knew that it would be better if she didn't... but she did anyway. "What?"

"How can you go for that?" He pointed at Sasuke sitting in the corner, ignoring everyone. "And not this!" He used both hands to point to himself.

"Naruto, what did you come here for?" Ino asked quickly while holding Sakura down by her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down before she did some serrious damage to the eccentric blonde.

"Fine..." he gave in. "Hinata."

Hinata looked surprised to see that she was being adressed."Yes?"

"Is Neji here today?"

She refused to allow her index fingers to push together as they had in the past. "No, well yes... I mean he'll be here later on today..."

She sighed inwardly. 'Well, at least I finally learned to stop stuttering... I guess...'

"Why what happened to him?" Naruto's eyebrow's furrowed in concern for his friend.

"Oh nothing too big," Hinata reassured him. "Just a slight stomach ache is all."

Naruto's face soften. "Oh, that's good. The nothing big, not the stomach ache part."

"Why are you asking about Neji?" Ino asked.

"Oh, he wanted to tag along to the skate park the next time Shikamaru and I went. Said he wanted to learn to skate a bit so he could impress a girl or something."

"Awww... that's so cute," Sakura said. She calmed down after hearing that.

"Hey, Naruto, does anyone rollerblade at that skate park of yours?" Ino asked.

"I've never seen anyone blade around there, but I don't see why they can't," he answered thoughtfully. Why?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "It's always called my attention, you guys are going today?"

"Yeah, you wanna join?" he asked.

"You think I could?" Ino asked back.

"Sure, the more the merrier," Naruto replied. "How 'bout you girls?"

"I don't think so," Sakura said. "It's Friday and there's student council stuff."

Naruto shrugged. "Hinata?"

"Uh.. sure I'll be there. I don't skate though..." She was worried about that, would she be able to hang around there?

"Neither does Shikamaru." he told her. "It's usually just me while he hangs around the food van with Chouji."

"Oh, okay then," she said. "I'll go."

"Cool."

"Sorry about the wait, class," Kakashi-sensei said as he strolled into the classroom. "On my way here-"

"Dammit, I don't care! Just take roll!" Naruto yelled. The kids went back to their seats and waited for the roll call to be over with.

Hinata was in a world of her own. 'I'm going to be spending an entire Friday afternoon with Naruto, and there's no Father to say otherwise. Yay! Today's going to be the best day ever!'

xxx

Temari sat next to Shikamaru on the rooftop during the break period. Well, it looked more like she was trying to sit in his lap but the boy was having none of that. He watched Naruto skate around the generators with a bored expression on his face, Chouji was on his other side... eating as usual.

"I heard you guys were going skating after school today," the girl said and tried to put her arms around the lazy boy's neck.

"Naruto skates," Shikamaru said and batted her hands away from him. "I just hang around."

"Why not? I'd guess you were great on that thing."

"You'd guess wrong. I ride for transportation only. Nothing else."

"So then why do you even go?" She was getting frustrated with him.

"Because he asks me to." he said simply.

"Can I come?"

"I don't care."

"Maybe I will go."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow to the girl. "I. Don't. Care."

Temari sighed. 'You play a tough game Nara... I'll figure out your type of girl and win your heart yet.'

What Temari didn't know was that someone had already won Shikamaru's heart. Let's think about this for awhile. Who was the one who got him to join in with a prank on Kakashi-sensei by tearing out the last page of the latest _Icha Icha _novel? And the one who asked him to go to shows with and always ended up with Shikamaru being crushed by psychotic people who enjoy inflicting pain? The one who asked him to take up skate boarding so that he wouldn't be the only one around the people he knew who did it? By Shikamaru, all this physical activity was a sure sign of affection. It was a shame Naruto didn't see it like that.

Which didn't really bother Shikamaru like it might have had he not been sensible enough to see the pros of this. For starters, he was pretty sure his best friend was straight. Second, if his straight friend had noticed that he was being crushed on by him it might rock their friendship.

'And I'd rather have him as a friend if not anything else,' he told himself daily. 'Anyway, it'll go away. I mean, I'm not even sure that I am gay. I could just be freaking out over nothing. It'll go away. I'm not worried. I'm sure it'll stop after awhile. I'm not gonna worry about it...'

xxx

Naruto sat at the far back corner table of the the library during Study Hall. It was completely isolated from the rest of the tables by all the bookshelves hiding it and what not. Not that he minded though, there was no one in this class that he wished to socialize with and it's not like he had any actual intention of "studying", and this just made it easier to do whatever out of the sensei's view.

Currently, he had his chair leaning against the wall with the bottom of his feet resting on the edge of the table, the band of his headphone set below his chin and the speakers over his ears, the CD player on repeat. He was reading the latest volume of _Fae Chevalier_ which was drawn by the same manga-ka of _Lost Souls_ (which he had on the table in front of him along with another book). It wasn't really the type of manga that Kiba and the guys were into, but he liked it so he was going to read it.

He moved his head a little to the beat of the music as he turned to the next chapter.

'Twila's so cool. She's like Sakura...' He took another look at the inked girl. 'Well... kind of. They're both pretty. And... they're smart... Sakura has a lot more confindence though... I'm not sure how she would take to defending a Faerie Kingdom... It would probably take a lot more than a few speeches from an exiled wizard on why to get her to rescue the princess, defeat her evil brother and his army of daemons and vampyres with the help of a little more than a mad witch and a couple of rebel sprites... all within the time frame of one minute.'

Naruto thought about this. 'Okay so maybe Sakura isn't like Twila at all. I think she would have gone back through the portal and take some pills 'cause she thinks she might be crazy. Would she have even gone through the portal to begin with? She is more of a realist after all. Ew, realist... So then why do I even like her?'

Naruto put the manga back onto the table and laid his hands behind his head. 'Well... she's pretty... she's smart... secretary of student council... whatever she does she's makes sure it's perfect... she isn't very nice at times though... and she can be violent.' He rubbed at his head. 'Could be that it's just because I've been harboring feeling for her since our first year... I don't even know that much about her. Are we friends? Or like aquaintances? I'll have to ask her sometime... well, it wouldn't be like I would have a chance at her. Not with that damn bastard Sasuke in the way. Stupid Sasuke!'

Sasuke came from around the bookshelf in front of the table and stood in front. He waited for Naruto to acknowledge him.

Naruto gave a full blown laugh. "Hey, she was right. Insult a dog and he'll come running. I still don't really know what that means though. It's gotta be more than just an insult." He pulled his headphones down. "What?"

"Answer me something," Sasuke demanded.

"Why?" Naruto demanded in return.

"Because I asked you to."

"Didn't sound like you were asking me." the blonde pointed out.

"Are you going to or not?"

"Depends on what the question is," Naruto told him.

"What were you talking to Hinata about in homeroom?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the raven haired boy. "What does that have to do with you?"

"That's none of your concern," Sasuke told him.

"Then why should I tell you?" Naruto asked.

"Because I'll kick your ass if you don't," the other boy answered.

"I'd like to see you do that."

Faster than anything, Sasuke pulled him out of his chair and pinned him against the wall he was leaning against. "Are you sure you want to see that?"

"Are you sure you want to start something here and blotch your record, Mr. Perfect?"

Sasuke let go of his grip on the boy and took a few steps back. Naruto stepped forward with a smirk on his face. Sasuke threw a right hook to Narutos' jaw and dropped the blonde boy to the ground. Naruto landed onto his stomach with a sick thump. Sasuke squated next to his fallen opponent and lifted his head from the ground by pulling the back of his hair.

"Don't you ever call me that again," Sasuke growled.

He let go of the hair and started to stalk off. He stopped and picked up one of the mangas on the table.

"You read De Range? What are you a girl?" he asked the newly risen Naruto.

"What are you? An asshole?!" The boy clearly wanted a fight.

Sasuke smirked and threw the book back to where he had picked it up. He dissappeared from behind the bookshelf where he first appeared. Naruto stood there fuming.

xxx

"Yeah, he can be really annoying to be around a lot of the time, but those tricks of his are pretty cool," Ino was telling them at lunch. "I want to see if I can do some of those on my skates."

"Where is the annoying little troll?" Sakura asked.

"He said he had a lunch detention," Shikamaru told her.

"How'd he do that?" Tenten asked him.

Shikamaru shrugged and bit into his food.

"Chouji!" Ino yelled. "You ate all of my chips!"

"And you had a ton of stuff for lunch too," Sakura said. "Hell, you even ate mine."

"You didn't seem to mind," the pudgy boy defended.

'Well, that's because I didn't,' Sakura thought to herself.

"I can't help it if I'm hungry!" Chouji defended.

"Well that doesn't mean that you can eat my food, fatass!" Ino yelled at the boy.

"I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"Sorry isn't going to bring my food back!" the blonde girl yelled.

"Ino, calm down," Hinata pleaded. "You can have some of my lunch."

"Forget it! I'm over it!" The blonde girl got up and walked away.

"She isn't over it," Shikamaru said after she was out of hearing distance.

"We know," Kiba sighed.

The rest of lunch went without a hitch. Even though nothing else eventfull happened to Chouji for the rest of the day, Ino's words rang throughout his head until he got home.

His parents weren't home from work yet. That was fine, Chouji wanted some time alone. He dragged himself into his room and opened his closet door. He looked at himself in the full length mirror. He sucked in his stomach and turned to the side. He regarded himself sadly before letting go and sighing.

"Why the hell do I have to like food so much?" he asked his reflection. "I bet if I was thinner than Ino wouldn't be so mean to me. She might even look at me like she looks at Sasuke." Chouji hit the mirror out of anger. "Who the hell am I kidding? I'm nothing compared to him, she even said that once." He hit the mirror again, this time causing a crack to go down the middle.

"I wish I could lose weight, just to get Ino's attention."

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	5. I, iii

xxx  
Scene III: "Full of vexation come I, with complaint against my child..."  
xxx

_Life..._

_Life is a contradiction unto itself, when one thinks about it. One can make life easy for oneself, but it's also difficult to go through. Life is short, but it's the longest thing one'll ever do. There is no one answer... to any real life question... because there are many different answers for the many different people living. What works for one person, possibly won't work for another. People could be similar to one another, but their methods of thinking can be completely different. There are those who think the same, but are polar opposites. It also doesn't help, that with so many countries and so many different nationalities, the culture boundaries between us all... makes it even more difficult to understand one another. What is acceptable to one... can be completely immoral to another. And there are many, who are closed minded to new ideals, new everything. That makes it a little more difficult to live, to grow up, in because we are exposed to things more easily now thanks to advances in technology._

_That is just human beings in general... for the adolescents... it was always difficult... even more so now._

_"Teenagers" is what we call them. They have been stereotyped, looked down upon, insulted, and who knows what else they are thought of. Ungrateful, self-centered, selfish, unappreaciative, that is how the media has portrayed them. Ignorant, arogant, trivial, a nuisance, they don't know anything. What needs to be understood is that those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, more or less, live in a society (not always based on hierarchy) of their own. They do not live in the same world as adults and children, rather they exist in a world that they themselves created. _

_Now, they live in this world of their own. Sounds like fun. It really isn't. These few years have the target of being the most hurtful, emotional, and all around awful time period of one's life. There are those, those who have a perfect balance between good and bad, and the few lucky ones who never had to deal with the bad. The purpose of this, is for expirience. Friendships are tested, the way to mix amongst social groups, understand how to tell the difference between those who actually care and those who are there for their own profit. During this we discover who we are, what we became after being through this ordeal._

_That is just the basic property of it. The teenager themself, is a completely different story. _

_Emotions, are capabled of skyrocketing to incredible lengths. Some are felt more than others. Whether or not those are positive or negative depends on the upbringing of the person. Their background, the way the parent's treated them, what they've seen, what they've gone through influences them more during this time than any other. In this setting it is not always a good thing. It can be unpredictable and sometimes lethal. Especially when this emotion called "Love" is involved._

_True, love is complex and incomprehensible for all ages. It clouds one's judgement and those who are not immune to it, have the possibility of doing everything and anything for love. But teenagers can become out of control with their emotional... sklennsssssssssssssssejnfwasefuhwdesfe_

'I don't know what I'm writing,' Hinata confessed to herself. 'This paper's not going well.'

She read it over.

'This isn't even a paper...'

She sighed, saved her rant, and turned the computer off. She got up from her desk chair and stretched. She went over to her bed and threw herself on her stomach. She grabbed a pillow from above her and brought it down to hug it.

"I don't know what to do," she told the pillow. "I don't even know what I'm trying to say really..."

She pulled the pillow closer to her body.

'I just want to give up on it...' Hinata smiled darkly.

"Hanabi would never give up," she quoted her father. "Well father, I'm sorry to dissapoint you, but I'm not Hanabi."

Her own mention of her sister made Hinata's eyes mist over. She crawled over to the headboard of her bed and sat up against it, plopping the pillow on her lap.

'It's not fair,' she continued thinking. 'You had so much potential, Hanabi. And as father's favorite... who knows how far you would have gotten.'

Hanabi was five years younger than her sister, but she was by far more gifted than the eldest daughter. Before even going to school, Hanabi was able to read and write just by looking at the books of the library and learning on her own. By six, she had read the entire library and her mathmatical and logical skills were more than impressive. At seven her artistic skills were more than just extravagant and her understanding of politics and economy surpassed even that of Hiashi. A child genius, really was what she was.

But because one child was one way and the other was another, that's when things got a little heavy in the Hyuuga household. Hiashi was convinced that there was no way that Hinata could be his child if she wasn't as talented as her sister.

"It's so stupid," Hanabi had said to her one night when she crept into Hinata's room during one of their more violent arguments. "We practically look the same."

"But we both look a lot like mother," Hinata told her. "Maybe I'm not father's child..."

"There's some of him in your face. I think if anyone isn't his child, I'd say it be me."

"Don't let him hear you say that."

They were quiet.

"I wish I was like you," Hanabi confessed.

"What?!" Hinata exclaimed with surprise. "Why would you want that? You're so much better than me."

"But you have a more creative mind."

"But your art-"

"Yes, I can paint, but really... I can't create unless it's already been created. I can read music, but I'm not very good with instruments, I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't act, or take a non-boring photo. You can do all those things."

"You can practice instruments and get better," Hinata said, trying to rebut everything that her sister had listed. "Singing... take lessons I guess, a good dance teacher, acting... needs passion, and for photos just look at different angles."

"I can't do that," Hanabi admitted. "I don't think that way. I see black and white. You see colors. I would rather be of average intelligence, then be color blind."

They both snuggled underneath Hinata's blankets and fell asleep.

Hinata heard the tear droplets hit the pillow below. She sniffled and held back a full out sob. She leaned her head back and willed herself to calm down. The last of the tears cascaded down her cheeks as she took in a large breath of air.

"If you were here," she said to no one, "I would be a whole lot happier. I mean... I love Neji, and I love Kiba, and I'm grateful for everything they've done for me... but you were the opposite of me... and you never once belittled me. Thank you."

More tears spilled out of her eyes. "I should have said 'Thank You' instead! I'm sorry!"

She brought the pillow over her face to muffle the sobbing noises she made, she didn't want Neji to hear and worry over her. When she settled down, she wiped her eyes clean.

"Need to do something else," she told herself. She pulled out a small notebook and a pencil from her night stand drawer. "I'll just sort out my paper."

She turned to a blank page and started an outline.

'Okay, now what do I want to say? What was I even talking about? I know I wanted to write something to do with the emotional imbalance of teenagers in love, but it's not like I know a lot about the subject. Do I love anyone?' She blushed. 'Well... I guess... Naruto, but that can't possibly be love love, oh my God, I did a double word.' She blushed deeper. 'Okay, let's just go with it for the moment. Why? Well... he's a good person, he makes people laugh, and he always looks so confident. He's kind of weird too.' Hinata laughed a little. 'He's not afraid to be himself, he likes ramen a lot, he likes Sakura...'

Hinata's happy mood came crashing around her. 'That's right... he likes Sakura.'

Hinata threw her notebook and pencil to the side. "I'm going to bed."

She switched her clothes for her PJs and without another thought sought comfort amist her sheets and blankets.

xxx

Neji sat in front of his own computer in his room. He was supposed to be writing his essay on whatever topic he wanted for language class, but he had other things on his mind. It had been three years today that he first walked into his home and his parents were not home.

At first he thought it was a just a normal thing. Sometimes they wouldn't be there when he got home from school. Either dad was still working and mom was out shopping or they went out together, but they were always back before he went to bed. When Neji woke up the next morning though, they weren't there. He looked into their bedroom. It seemed as though it had not been disturbed in any way since the previous day. He was a little more concerned now, but still, he dressed and went to school, hoping that they would be there by the time he came home.

It was two days later that he actually informed someone of his parents sudden disappearance. Nothing was found though. It was as if his parents just vanished. No trace was left behind, there was no reason to flee town, they were in no debt, or had problems with anything like the Yakuza or any organization similar. They were just gone.

Neji was given the option of living alone or living with his father's brother in Konoha. He wasn't really that big of a fan of being on his own yet, so he chose to live with his uncle. At first, he thought little about his parents. Hinata took up a lot of his mind. He wanted to help her out of her depression more than anything. But when she had asked him about it for the first time, he let it all out.

He told her that he felt abandoned by them. That they just wanted to throw off the shackle of parenthood and start anew. No children, just the two of them again. He felt unwanted, and Hinata knowing what that felt like held him in her arms and let him cry out.

Neji stood up and exited his room. He walked halfway down the corridor and entered Hinata's room. She was already asleep.

'It's only eight-thiry,' he thought.

He walked over to her bedside and felt her forehead.

'She's not sick. Just must be tired.'

He left her room and went back to his own.

xxx

Sakura sat upstairs on her bed and tried to ignore the fighting going on below. Her father had walked into the house again to see her mother drunk for whatever hundreth time it was. And in retaliation, her drunken mother threw several objects at him to shut him up while yelling how he was never home.

All this first started happening when Sakura had failed to gain entrance into the middle school her mother wanted. Now that she would be going to a second rate school, she was convinced totally and completely that Sakura would end up second rate herself.

In conversations with friends, her mother's favorite subject was her daughter. How unfortunate it was to see her fail so early in life, that she was sure that she would have been better off with what they had sacrificed so much to give her, so on and so forth. Soon afterwards her mother started to drink more and more, no longer only drinking socially. Her father spent less and less time at home to avoid the woman. However, Sakura heard from her mother that it was because of her, he was ashamed of how his daughter had turned out.

It was bad enough being teased at school still for the size of her forehead, but now at home she had to hear her mother complain about the alleged weight she was gaining rapidly. Her mother went on and on about the perfect body she had when she was younger and warned her daughter that if she wasn't careful, then she would end up like the spinster a few houses away from them.

"Never settle for less than perfect," was her motto and made sure to implant the slogan into her daughter's head.

'If I hadn't messed up so badly so early,' she thought. 'none of this would have happened.'

She listened to the last of the argument and heard the front door slam. She raced to her window in time to see her father leave again.

'I doubt I can still fix this... It would have been so much better for them, if I hadn't existed...'

xxx

Sasuke had just completed all of the homework that had been assigned for the day. The only piece of schoolwork left for him to do was the report that was assigned in Language. Nomally, it wouldn't be a problem. He would have gone into the library of the Uchiha Estate, pulled out all the research materials needed, and finish it well before the due date. But there was no given topic. No outline to follow. He had the privilege of choosing his own way to write and what to write about. He had no idea what to do.

For as long as he could remember, Sasuke had been ordered to live up to the same standards Itachi had set when he went to school. That meant being on top of everything, academic and athletic. Itachi was like a child prodigy. It wasn't as though he had super intelligence, no, not like that. He learned things at his own even pace. He was on top of everything because he was just a healthy striver. He enjoyed his hard work to reach his goals, and because he took pleasure in that, it was as though it came naturally.

What happened with Sasuke, was that his whole being was to live up to his brother and that left little to no room of developing a personality of his own. So people knew little about who Sasuke was as a person, because he knew about the same amount about himself as any of them.

So given the free will of writing whatever, however, was more difficult than anticipated. Simply because he wasn't completely sure what he liked or disliked. Unless it came to people, then it was obvious to him who he could stand being around and who he couldn't.

'I don't know what to do,' he thought. 'I should just choose something and write about that. Or a biographical paper. Dammit, just pick something!'

He banged his fist on the desk's surface.

'Calm down. Okay, if I write on a person, who would it be? I don't think I like any famous people. I could do a historical figure... Okay that would be good, we'll go with that. Now, which one.'

He closed his eyes and thought about every historical figure he knew.

'How the hell am I going to know who to choose?'

He leaned back and covered his face with his hands in frustration. His room was in total silence for a few good minutes.

'I... I would really like to write about Hinata,' he confessed in his mind. 'But that might seem a little weird to people.' He had the ghost of a faint smile on his face as he remembered something. 'But she did call me weird.'

It was at the beginning of their second year of highschool that he first noticed her. The two of them were partners for a short period of time in chemistry. At the beginning the two of them silently worked together, talking only when absolutely necessary. Then after awhile, Hinata would tell him stories about her cousin or what her and her girlfriends had done over the weekend, and even sometimes she would talk about her sister. He listened only half-heartily. Then she began to ask him things about himself. What his family was like, what his hobbies were, and what he did with his friends. The family questions he answered bluntly, but as for the other ones... he wasn't sure how to answer her. Did he have any hobbies? Who were his friends? He wasn't even sure if he had any of those. To those questions he responded simply: "I don't know".

"You don't know?" she asked him bewildered.

"No," he responded.

"How can you not know? What do you like to do?"

Sasuke contemplated this. "I study... I practice my tennis game... I do homework... that's about it."

"Do you like doing all that?" she pestered on.

"It's not a matter of what I like to do," he answered automatically.

Hinata studied him for awhile before asking, "What's your favorite color?"

The question caught Sasuke off guard. "What?"

"What's your favorite color," the girl repeated.

"It's..." Truthfully, he didn't know. "I don't know."

"You're serious." It was more of a statement then a question.

"Yes," he bluntly replied.

"Well..." She trailed off. "What color makes you feel warm inside?"

"What?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"You know, what color makes you feel happy everytime you see it?"

"I'm.. not sure what you mean." He really didn't.

"Think about all the colors. Which one stands out and makes you smile?"

He thought about all the colors he knew. "I guess I like... pale."

Hinata blinked at him. "You're really weird, Sasuke."

She laughed and surprisingly enough he smiled.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked her.

"Purple," she said.

"Why?"

"It makes me smile everytime. Especially when it glitters."

She laughed again and this time he joined in a little.

Their partnership ended a while afterwards. They continued to speak to each other during class time, but Sasuke's reluctance to approach her while with her companinons left it only to that. Two of the reasons being that one: Naruto was around her sometimes and two: The two leaders of his fanclub were some of her closer friends.

But even though their communication wasn't all that great, his thoughts continued to drift towards her more than every now and then. He noticed that he was probably the happiest he'd ever be around her. He was more relaxed, less stressed over following Itachi's footsteps. Hinata had made him think more about the world around him. He probably would have broken free completely from his parent's orders, but then that fateful day approached when he would seclude himself into that shelter once again.

Hinata had confessed to the Uchiha that she had been smitten by the blonde knucklehead known as Uzumaki Naruto, and (in lack of better words) his heart fell and repaired itself by turning cold. He no longer took into consideration of his preferences or those of other people. His concentration went back to being as good as Itachi and gain the approval of his parents.

But still, the Hyuuga girl wouldn't leave his thoughts, and so in time he learned to live with the images of her that had implanted themselves in his mind. And the fact that his chest would beat a little faster each time she passed by and waved hello. And when he grinned inwardly everytime she laughed and wondered what it could be she found amusing. And when he would scowl deeper everytime he saw Naruto approach her and that light blush would dance on her face. And when his eyes would narrow anytime physical contact was made with her by the opposite sex.

'I'm not going to win her over like this,' he thought suddenly. 'I'm going to have to do something.'

A knock sounded on his door. He crossed to it and opened it revealing his brother on the other side.

"What?" Sasuke said a little too demanding.

"Just wondering what you were doing up so late," Itachi said.

"Just a report."

"On what?"

"On anything."

"Need help?" the older brother offered.

"No."

He closed the door on Itachi and went back to his desk to contemplate his paper.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	6. I, iv

xxx  
Scene IV: "Out of her favor where I am in love."  
xxx

Sasuke put away all of the books he had used and got out the ones he would be needing for the next three periods out of his locker. He shut it closed and spun the lock a few times for securtiy reason. He turned around to continue his way, only to be blockaded by a pink annoyance.

"So, Sasuke," Sakura started with a smile. Her cheeks were a light tint of pink to give her that somewhat shy look. "I'm sure you've heard about the test coming up in History."

Sasuke said nothing back, but did raise an eyebrow to her comment.

"So, I was thinking," she continued. "you know that, Iruka-sensei has been grading really tough lately, and that some extra studying could be beneficial for a student's overall grade."

"For someone who would need the extra studying," he replied.

"Right! Of course, to someone who would need it," she said while keeping a smile on her face.

'Ino tried the same damn thing not that long ago,' she paniced in her mind. 'How the hell was I going to do it any differently? I need to figure out how to secure this.'

"And I was thinking, that there are quite a few who could use a tutor before tomorrow, and well, one tutor wouldn't be able to give them all the attention they need, so another one would be in the best interest of-"

"Shino makes a fine tutor," he interrupted.

"What?"

"Shino makes a fine tutor," he said a bit clearer. "That's what you were going on about, right? Who do get to play tutor with you?"

"Well, actually-" she started.

He sidestepped her and walked past. Sakura stayed rooted to her spot.

'Why do I bother?' She turned her head to watch Sasuke's receding figure. 'Some days it seems hopeless, so why should I even bother?'

'Because he is perfection,' her inner self responded. 'And if you don't get him, you fail completely. Then who would give a damn about you.'

'Does anyone give a damn now?'

'... Not really.'

The comment from herself made her hang her head a little lower.

xxx

Ino was crossing the courtyard with Chouji. They were on their way back to Iruka-sensei's room in seach of Ino's wallet. Before they reached the door, Sasuke came through it rather abruptly.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Ino called out as the opaque eyed boy approached them.

'Yay! I can ask him to help me out with my school stuff right now instead of later.'

But before she was able to open her mouth, Sasuke spoke before her.

"Whatever it is, no," he said and continued his walk.

Ino reversed so that she now faced his back walking away. "Wait! What?!"

He stopped and turned halfway. "Whatever you wanted to ask of me, the answer is no." With that, he went back to continuing towards his destination.

"Well, something got him in a pissy mood," Ino said to no one in particular.

"You mean he isn't always like that?" Chouji joked.

"Shut up, Chouji."

Chouji sighed and rolled his eyes. "Were you gonna ask him anything?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask him to help me out with some of the work we got in Stats."

"You know, I'm doing pretty good in that."

"Yeah, yeah, don't brag," she said matter-of-factly. "Let's go find my bag."

She stalked over to the door and yanked it open. "You going to help me? Break period is almost over."

Chouji looked the blonde girl over. Knowing he should just refuse to do so, he said, "Yeah, I'm coming."

xxx

Right now, Sasuke didn't need his fanclub to be all over him. Right now, he needed some time to think about how he was going to approach Hinata. Instead of coming right out and saying everything at once, he thought it would be better to take a page from his fangirls' book and try a type of study date before going all out. Easier said than done.

'Even if I get her to agree to meet with me somewhere remote, she'll probably bring her tag-a-long cousin with her,' he thought.

The bell signaling the beginning of third period had rung some time ago. Sasuke was already at his desk in History, waiting patiently. His calm and stoic appearance that was normal to everyone was only seen on the outside, but inside he was a complete wreck. He watched students file into the room, gabbing excitedly as they made their way into their seats.

His heart skipped a beat as he saw Hinata walk through the door with her cousin by her side. She was talking to him in a normal tone and he listened attentively with an expressionless face. As they neared he overheard Neji tell her not to worry over whatever she was discussing with him. His eyes never left the front of the room the whole time she walked past and sat directly behind him.

"Damn," Neji swore.

"What's the matter?" Hinata asked.

"I grabbed the wrong notebook," he explained. "I'll be back."

"Hurry up," Hinata warned as Neji quickly made his way out of the class.

'Now! Do it now that he's gone!' Sasuke thought quickly.

He turned around in his seat to face the girl behind him. Her head was hung over her desk, she was doodling on her notebook cover absent mindedly.

"Good morning, Hinata," he started.

"Oh, good morning, Sasuke," she looked up and greeted him.

His palms started to uncharacteristicly sweat. "I was thinking, that we should get together today and study for tomorrow's test."

"Oh, that sounds like a great idea, Sasuke. I know some people that have been worried about the way Iruka-sensei has been lately, even Neji has been wondering where his grade is going here," she went off into a small ramble, apparently feeling talkative for the day. She took a small breath before stating, "With everyone, it'll be like a study party!"

"No, Hinata," Sasuke made to correct her. "I meant-"

"You're having a party, Hinata?!" Naruto interrupted Sasuke when he plopped into the seat to the right of Hinata. "Kickass, I'll so be there!"

"Um.. well, not really a party party, Naruto," she told the blonde.

"Ew, you did a double word," Naruto teased her.

Hinata's cheeks flushed a little. "Sasuke and I were talking about getting some people together to study for tomorrow's test, and besides, I think it'll be awhile before Neji and I host another party at the estate. You remember what happened last time..."

"Oh yeah..." Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head shyly. "Sorry about that again. I promise not to get into the same thing at the next one!"

"What's this talk about parties?" Neji asked, just returning from the journey to his locker.

"Study party," Naruto told him.

"Really?" Neji turned to his cousin. "At our place? Your father didn't go out today, so he's most likely going to be there all day."

"I forgot all about him," Hinata said. "Sasuke, what if we had it at your place?"

Before Sasuke could answer the heiress, he was interupted once again by the loudmouth close by.

"We could have it at my place!" Naruto exclaimd. "There's room, there's food, and no parental overseers!"

"That's... very generous of you, Naruto," Hinata said.

"Ah, it's nothing. So who's coming?"

"Well, Neji and I, and you too, right Sasuke?" she turned her attention to the brooding raven boy in front of her.

Sasuke sighed. "Sure."

He spun around again to face the front right when Iruka-sensei walked in and began a review lecture promptly. He payed no attention to the excited whispers of Naruto, or the faint whispers of the girl he longed for behind him.

xxx

Tenten glanced over her reflection in her locker mirror. Satisfied with what she saw, she closed the door and approached Kiba only a few rows down. Today was the day, Tenten would finally gather the courage to tell the boy she admired her feelings for him.

"Kiba," she called out.

Kiba turned towards her and waved a hello. "Hey, you going to the party after school?"

Tenten's curiosity got the better of her. "What party?"

"There's a party going on at Naruto's place, apparently under the diguise of a study party. At least I hope it's only a disguise," he added in afterthought.

"Hn... I promised Ino that I'd stay with her through her tennis practice," she said thoughtfully. "But we could stop by afterwards."

"Well, that's cool," the boy told her, thought not very enthusiastically. "Do you know where Hinata's eating lunch today?"

The question caught Tenten off guard. "No, why?"

"I have something for her," Kiba said and pulled out a book as thick as two Shojo Beat magazines from his still open locker. "I saw it yesterday at SUburbIA and it reminded me of her, so I thought she might like it."

"What is it," Tenten leaned in a bit to get a better look.

"It's one of those things where they give you the sheet music of songs to play on a piano," he explained. "This one has a bunch from some of the movies that she likes and some bands too. I've asked her if she's been keeping up her practice, she told me no, so I thought maybe this would motivate her or something."

"I didn't know she played piano..."

"Yeah, the first time I heard her play was at her sister's seventh birthday party. I don't remember what it was called, just that it was composed by a german guy, but anyway, it was really pretty. I remember how Hanabi hugged her afterwards and told her it was the best birthday present she had ever gotten." Kiba was smiling throughout his trip down memeory lane.

"Really..." Tenten said with some displeasure. Hearing him go on about her love rival was not very encouraging to the brunette.

"Yeah, and she has a really awesome voice. I don't know if she ever started singing again after..." Kiba broke off and looked at Tenten a little unsurely.

"Her little breakdown, I know," she told him.

"You don't have to say it like that," Kiba said in a warning tone.

"Well, that's what it was wasn't it? And when she did come back to school, she was this bit crazy, little wrist slitting, emo girl who never spoke and when she did it was harder to hear her than before she became like that."

Kiba slammed his locker shut.

"Tenten," he said with a tad of venom dripping from his voice. "Shut. Up."

He stalked off into the opposite direction leaving Tenten standing in a disillusionment. Tenten sighed and slumped her shoulders.

"That went well."

xxx

"I'll let you touch my chest."

Shikamaru diverted his gaze from the sky to land on the girl sitting on the ground in front of him.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"If you go out with me, I'll let you touch my chest," Temari repeated.

Shikamaru kept his gaze on her just to make sure if she was actually serious or not.

"What a troublesome little girl you can be, Temari," he said. "Have you no respect for yourself?"

With that he rolled his eyes back to white and blue above.

Temari's was getting frustrated. "Then what?! What the hell can I do to get you to go out with me?!"

"I'm beginning to think that you don't get the hint that I am not interested. You can't be that dumb can you?"

Temari actually looked a little hurt. "I just don't get why you keep shooting me down..."

"Maybe because I don't like you?"

She threw her hands back and leaned on them. "Am I ever gonna figure you out?"

"Probably not."

They were quiet.

"You know sooner or later, I'm just gonna give up on you and move on to the next boy," she said.

"And that would justify your infatuation with me how?"

"What?"

"By moving on so quickly, how does that justify you really being interested in me?"

'Damn, he's a smart one,' she though. 'Nice change.'

"No answer?" he questioned.

"... I don't know..."

"You don't know what?"

"I don't know how to go on from there," she said in a quiet tone. "I thought, maybe I'd try an unltimatum-"

"But if the threat didn't work, then how would the ultimatum?" he finished for her.

"Yeah..."

"Just stop it, Temari. That's all I can tell you."

"What?! Just like that you expect me to give up?"

"Are you going to turn into a replica of one of Sasuke's fangirls? Because that wouldn't do any better."

"I know that, jackass! It's just... Oh, fuck you." She got up and stormed away from him.

Shikamaru didn't bother to watch her retreating figure. There was no point to, therefore it was just extra work that should be avoided.

xxx

Lee was preparing to cut Tenten off on her way home and propose to her his unyielding love. The way him and Gai-sensei thought would be best, would be to treat the matter in a private setting, unlike the spectacle he made with Sakura a few years back. This way, it would show Tenten that he both cares and respects her sensitive emotions to such a serious issue between the two of them. Or something like that. In any case, Gai-sensei had assured him that it would work.

Lee had her route implanted in her memory and knew exaclty when she would appear at this corner. At this time he would block her way and say everything that he had wanted to say, but out of fear of losing the girl he wanted, kept to himself.

He heard footsteps. He checked his wristwatch. The time was about right. He inhaled a large amount of breath and slowly let it out again. He shut his eyes tight and listened intently to the approaching footsteps. When they were three steps or so away from turning the corner, Lee threw his arms out and jumped from his hiding place, landing himself in a wide stance with his head hung, facing the ground.

"I must tell you how over the span on these last two years I have come to admire, dare say even love you from a far off distance and you would no doubt surley make me the happiest man in the spring of his youth if you were to accept my unyielding affection and return them to me as well!"

Saying all that in one breath really made it a bit easier for him to come out and say it. But still, it took a lot out of him. He breathed a little heavily for a few moments before letting out a sigh of relief.

"That's great and all, Lee, but I don't really think you're my type."

Lee's eyes opened wide at the voice that obviously did not belong to Tenten. He lifted his head and was met face to face with a long haired Hyuuga boy. To his left was Naruto grinning madly and on his other side was Hinata who looked more than a little shocked.

Lee's face redened with embarassment.

"No! My heart wrenching confession was not meant to be heard by you! It was meant for another's ears! Another's!" he cried out. "Oh, how could this be! I was so sure that she would walk by at this very moment! She has never failed before to make her appearance known at this very spot, at this very time!"

"Who're ya talking about?" Naruto had to ask.

"Tenten!" Lee shouted without thinking twice.

Silence hung in the air between the four students.

"You like Tenten, Lee?" Hinata asked him quietly.

"Well, I suppose it would make no difference seeing as how I have already let it known to you three, so yes, I ... like ... Tenten."

More silence.

"Well... um... she's with Ino right now. At Ino's tennis practice," Hinata informed him.

"Oh," was all Lee could say. "I suppose then that I will just have to wait for another day."

"Ya know, she might stop by my place later on today," Naruto spoke up. "We're having sort of a study session for Iruka-sensei's test tomorrow, so if you wanna stop by..."

"Thank you, Naruto, but I think I will pass on that offer," he replied and made his way to walk past them.

"I would appreciate it greatly if we kept this sort of misadventure between the four of us," Lee said to them.

Naruto told him that it wouldn't be a problem, Neji said he wouldn't tell a soul, and Hinata merely nodded her head. Satisfied, Lee left the three and made his way back home to try to forget his failed attempt at proposing to Tenten and instead propsed to Neji.

Naruto was the first one to say something. "That was different."

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	7. I, v

xxx  
Scene V: "To be or not to be..."  
xxx

Sakura was sitting at her desk calculating the total intake of what she ate and the calories of it all for the day.

'Not good enough!' her inner self scolded after the math was completed.

"I know! I'm trying..." she whispered harshly to herself.

'You either do or you don't! There is no "try"!'

Sakura closed the little pink diary and laid her head on the desk.

"Today sucked," she said to herself. "My grade is plummeting in Literature because of the report I didn't do over Summer Break. I'm dreading the results of that History test Iruka-sensei had us take today. I suck at English. And there's that new damn assignment Kurenai-sensei gave out that I have yet to start..."

Sakura wanted to cry.

"Why can't I do it right?! Why am I such a failure?!" She pushed everything off the desk with her arm. "Now, I'm going to have to clean that up..."

She left her chair and sat on her knees to pick up the random papers and books she had thrown. She lifted one to her face and scowled deeply at it. It was her last statistics quiz. It was one of the pop quizzes that was given that caused Sakura to go into an anxiety attack and froze for the entire thing. Not one question was answered.

"I'm a horrible person... I can't do anything, no matter what I do... I'll just always less than perfect. Dad won't ever be at home for more than a few hours and mom won't stop drinking until I can prove to them that I am not unworthy..."

'But right now you are unworthy,' her innerself told her. 'Your home is broken, your grades are hitting rock bottom, you still haven't lost more than five pounds, and Sasuke's paying even less attention to you lately.'

Sakura did cry.

xxx

'I could just starve myself,' Chouji thought to himself.

He was laying on his bed desperatley trying to think of a way to make himself more appealing to Ino.

'That wouldn't work, I like food too much.'

He groaned and flipped over onto the floor. He picked himself up and stood for a moment.

"Why can't I just like food less?" he asked himself.

He went over to his desk and turned on the computer. As he watched the loading screens flash before him he contemplated over the idea of maybe there was a diet that he could possibly go by without feeling hungry all the time. But before he could sign on to the internet and begin his search, Shikamaru came into his room without any warning.

"Hey, you're door was open so I let myself in," he said.

"What the hell?" Chouji jumped at the sudden intrusion. "Knock much?"

"I did knock," Shikamaru defended. "No one answered, tried the door, door opened, I came up here in search of you, and here we are now. Where're your folks?"

"They went out for the night. What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru went over to Chouji's bed and made himself comfortable. He picked up a random manga and began to flip through it while he said: "That woman's been nagging me to death, had to get out of there. So, I came here to see what you were doing."

"What's you're mom bugging you about now?"

"I don't know, I tuned her out when she started." He threw the book back down. "What are you doing there?"

Chouji thought quickly. "I was going to research the disadvantages of dieting. You know, for that project Kurenai-sensei gave out."

"You haven't done that yet?"

"I thought I could put it off for a while since it's pretty much the easiest thing we've gotten all year."

Shikamaru took his answer. "Why dieting?"

"Because, you know how girls are always: "I can't eat that, I'm on a diet."? I just wanted to figure out some of the consequences of dieting so much."

"Yeah, that can't be healthy."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. Just because one girl eats carrot sticks all day, doesn't mean that she's healthier then the one who ate a plate of pasta for dinner. But she would be healthier than the one who eats fast food three times a day. Hell, one meal in itself is bad, but it does taste good... most of the time."

Chouji looked at him oddly. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure anymore," Shikamaru confessed. "I've got some stuff on my mind that's kind of blocking my thinking."

"Like what?"

"Nothing big. Anyway, it's a good thing we don't have to worry over stupid ass things like our weight."

"We don't?" Chouji questioned.

"No, why would we?"

Chouji shrugged. "I don't know... attract a girl?"

"Girls are fickle troublesome creatures. But some guys are too... Anyway, what are you going on about girls for? Don't tell me, you're gonna stop eating to impress someone?"

Shikamaru, for all fun and games, was joking around when he said this. But when he didn't receive any reply from the boy sitting not far from him, his expression turned into a serious one.

"Please say you're not gonna stop eating to impress a girl," he said suddenly.

"Some girls like skinny guys," Chouji replied.

Shikamaru's eyes went wide. He hopped off the bed and crossed over to his friend. He placed his hands on Chouji's shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

"No," the boy said to his friend.

"No?"

"No crash dieting, those things are fucking dangerous, Chouji. No girl is worth shredding your insides over. Hell, no girl is worth changing over. If she really liked you, she'd accept you as you are."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts, if you want to lose weight for yourself, that's great, but don't do it for another person."

He let go of his friend and stepped back. Chouji looked a little down, but more pensieve if anything else.

"You okay?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Maybe you're right."

"Damn straight, I'm right."

Neither one of them said anything for a while.

"Why am I acting this way?"

"Because emotions are pains in the ass."

Shikamaru's cell phone rang.

"What?" he answered. "But I haven't even been here for that long... Fine, whatever... Yeah, I'm on my way."

He hung up.

"I got to go," he explained. Chouji got up from his seat and walked Shikamaru downstairs to the front door.

"Make sure to lock the door," Shikamaru joked with him before leaving. He stepped outside, but before he started his way home, he turned to face Chouji once again.

"No crash dieting?" He asked him.

"No crash dieting," Chouji promised.

Satisfied, Shikamaru turned away and made his way home. Chouji watched his friend walk away then closed the door. Making sure that it was locked this time.

xxx

Hinata's frustration had grown to a breaking point. She had just attended a luncheon (that she absolutely _had_ to be at) with her father and some of his close aquaintances. Being put down by her father was bad enough, but to be put down in front of people by the person who by all means should defend her made her feel worse about herself than she had in ages. She couldn't even defend herself really. That would only make her appearance worse to the people who had just heard what a dissapointment of a child she was. Her heart was heavy, and really all she wanted to do was go upstairs and pass the time in her room alone. She couldn't do that just yet though, she was still in the car with her father, still on their way back to the Hyuuga Estate.

Since they first entered the vehicle, he hadn't stopped lecturing her on how she could have presented herself better, how she made no attempt to join in on the conversations being held, and of course how her sister would have done far better than Hinata had.

At the mention of her sister, Hinata snapped.

"I am not Hanabi! And it doesn't matter what you say because I will never be like her! But that doesn't mean that you can treat me like nothing, because even if you can't fully accept it, father, she was still my sister, and I am still your daughter!"

She would have kept going, gotten everything out of her while she was still flaming with anger if her tears hadn't choked her voice back for that moment. That gave Hiashi the time to backhand her clear across her face. The stinging pain of his hand coming into contact with the skin on her cheek hurt her, but not as much as the emotional pain that she had locked up inside of her. As the auto came to a stop in front of a red light, Hinata took her opportunity and got out, slamming the door behind her, and running as fast and as far as he could, not paying attention to the calls of her father to come back.

Tears blurred her vision. She knew that she was still in the downtown district, but she didn't know where exactly. Finally her legs gave out, she collapsed right there on the sidewalk, panting. She collected herself and stood once again. She noticed an alleyway not far from her. She entered it and found a collectively clean spot to sit. She cried before she hit the floor. Her tears came from anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, and the sense of being lost that she hadn't been able to shake off for years.

It was at least a half hour later before she quieted down. She wiped the left over tears in her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked around at her surroundings. It was just another typical alleyway. Dimly lit, graffiti on the wall, a dumpster filled with garbage, broken glass...

She picked up a piece of the glass and examined it. It looked like a broken piece of mirror from a compact. She ran her finger against one of the rough edges.

"Ow." She pulled her finger away and looked down at it. A thin streak of red came through her skin.

Hinata bit her lip. "I shouldn't. I know I shouldn't do it again."

She lifted the skirt of her dress up past one of her thighs.

"Just once," she said and dragged the glass across her flesh. "Just this once, and I won't do it ever again."

She looked at the crimson flow and breathed in relief.

xxx

Naruto was dressed in his school uniform, despite the fact that it was a Saturday. He brushed his hair, then put on a long black pea coat. He always made sure to look his best when visiting his brother. He put his shoes on and called out to his cat.

"You gonna come with me this time?" he asked her.

Neko walked over the door, stood on her back paws and leaned her front paws on the door for balance. This was her way of saying yes.

"I should put you on a leash," Naruto said. The cat looked offended, not that anyone other than Naruto could tell. "Not because I think you'll run away, but I don't know, isn't there a leash law or something?" He went back into his bedroom real quick to retreive the item.

'As long as I don't have to wear the harness, it won't be that bad,' Neko reasoned with herself.

He came back with a collar and leash, no harness to the cat's pleasure. She stayed perfectly still while her owner strapped the collar around her neck, then attach the leash to said collar. Nartuo grabbed his key ring from the nail by the doorframe and opened the door, letting Neko lead the way. He locked up and went down the small set of stairs.

"Hey brat, where you headin' off to?"

Naruto turned his head to face Jiraiya's home. He noticed that the elderly man was dressed more fanciful today than ever.

"I could ask you the same thing, Pervy Sage," he shot back with a smirk.

"How many times do I gotta tell ya to stop calling me that?" He crossed the small road and walked over to Naruto.

"When're you gonna stop calling me a brat?"

"When you stop acting like one."

"Then I'll do the same."

Jiraiya "hmped" at the boy. "So where're ya headin' off to?"

"Thought I'd pay a little visit to the older brother today. Haven't been to see him in a while."

Jiraiya's expression softend a bit. "I can take ya there."

"Really?"

"Sure, it's on my way anyway." He looked down at Neko. "I guess the cat can ride in the back."

"Thanks a bunch, Pervy Sage. I didn't feel much like walking all the way today." Naruto smiled madly like a cheshire cat.

"Just get in the car before I change my mind."

They both crossed back over to Jiraiya's lot and got into his car. Naruto lifted Neko over the seat and dropped her into the backseat. She found herself a comfortable spot to lay down.

"You didn't answer me," Naruto said. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to meet Tsunade someplace she wanted to check out."

"Ew..."

"It's not like that! And even if it was, it's nothing to go "ew" about."

"Double ew..."

"You did a double word."

"No I said "double ew" not "ew ew". There's a difference."

"But you just said a double word right now."

"But I was explaining the difference!"

"Still counts."

Naruto gave an exasperated sigh. "You know, Pervy Sage, you can be a downright bastard sometimes."

"I know."

The only sound in the car was Neko's purring.

"How's school?" Jiraiya asked.

It was a desterate attempt to strike up a conversation.

"Same as always. Bullshit day in and day out. If I didn't totally need that piece of paper that was proof of putting up with thirteen years of crap, I wouldn't go."

"So when did you start being emo?"

"First, I'm surprised you even know what emo is. Second, I'm not emo, I am Uzumaki Naruto, and I am a person!"

"Does Tsunade know what you think about school?"

"Grandma knows," Naruto told him. "She blames teenage angst for my opinion."

"When she say that?"

"Not that long ago," the blonde answered. "I ended up in her office for a dress code violation. Stupidest shit ever, I swear..."

Jiraiya laughed. "Who has enough time on their hands to report a dress code violation?"

"Iruka-sensei apparently. I don't know what's up his ass, but he's been giving all of us shit since we came back from summer."

Jiraiya pulled up to the iron gates.

"How long are you gonna be here?" he asked Naruto.

"Not very," the blonde boy replied stepping out and letting Neko out from the back. "I mean, I still don't feel like walking, but the bus won't let the cat on."

"I'd offer you a ride back, but this isn't like a five minute errand."

"Yeah, I know, Pervy Sage. Don't worry about it though. Thanks a lot!"

He waved goodbye to the white haired man and walked through the entrance gates with Neko by his side. He navigated his way through the slabs of cement with various names on them and the smell of incense from those who had just come and gone. He soon came to a stop and found himself in front of a familiar plot. He stood in silence before wiping off some of the dirt that had appeared on the tombstone from past rainfalls, then lit incense.

"Hey, big brother," he whispered.

He sat down in front of the stone that held his brother's name.

"So... hn... I don't know how to start off this time," Naruto said. Neko sat next to him and watched with wide eyes.

"Nothing's really happened. Sakura keeps shooting me down, but I don't really ever expect her to say yes. I had a bunch of friends over for a study party the other day. Even that Sasuke bastard came. Don't know why, but he didn't stay very long. As soon as Sakura and Ino started to moon over he left. Hell, he left before they started to moon. I'm working now. 'Cause the insurance money's running low, and so's the saving's account. Partly my fault, I know, but manga and games are so damn expensive. Um... I'm getting better at playing your guitar. Still can't really read notes though. Uh... I finally got rid of some of your stuff. That was kind of hard..."

His eyes started to sting.

"I didn't really want to, but it was getting kind of crowded..."

Tears started to trail down his face.

"Dammit," he swore and wiped them away hastily. "I didn't want to do this again. I know it's not my fault. So many people have told me that, and when I actually think about it logically, it isn't. But still... just what the fuck though?! It's not bad enough about mom and dad but then you go and fucking leave me too! Just... fuck!... I'm sorry. It's not like that, I know. That doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt still, Eiji. Because I don't think it matters what people tell me or what the actual reason was, I'm always gonna blame myself... Because I was just too stupid to understand what the fuck I was saying..."

Neko got up from her sitting position and hoped into Naruto's lap. Naruto lifted his hand to pet the cat. She looked up onto that tear streaked face.

'It really isn't your fault though,' she longed to tell him.

"Heh... even after death, you still make me feel like shit. It's fine though, I deserve it."

He wiped his tears away again.

"We always visit like this. I'll try to end it a little more happy today."

He inhaled a breath and started talking.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	8. I, vi

xxx  
Scene VI: "If you repay me not on such a day...an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken..."  
xxx

"Anyone know places that are hiring?"

The group turned their attention to the blonde boy eating his luch packed ramen out of a container.

"What happened to your job at Ichiraku?"

"You didn't quit did you?"

"He was probably fired."

"How did you get fired so fast?"

"This just proves more that your hopeless."

"Does ramen taste good cold?"

Naruto finished munching away before answering. "One: I didn't quit.Two: I wasn't fired, I was let go. Three: I am _not_ hopeless. Four: Ramen taste good all the time, no matter what temperature, betch."

"Betch?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Go to YouTube, search for "shoes"," Naruto explained. "Kelly's fucking rad."

If they were in an anime, they'd all be sweatdropping right now.

"Hold up and backtrack," Kiba said. "How'd you get fired?"

"I wasn't fired! I was let go!" the blonde defended. "There's a difference!"

"What's the difference?" Ino asked.

Naruto didn't answer her right away. "I'm not sure... But there is!"

"Fine then, you were let go," Kiba took control of the conversation again. "Why?"

"Let me guess," Sakura started, "you were eating more ramen than you were serving."

It was so quiet, they could practically hear the wind going by them.

"Wow, Sakura, you really are smart," Naruto finally said.

"Idiot," the pink haired girl mumbled earning Ino's agreement.

"You're such a loser sometimes," Shikamaru told him.

"Gee, thanks, "best friend"."

"No problem."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So, anyone know where places are hiring?"

"Why do you need to work?" Neji asked. "Don't you have money in the bank?"

"Money runs out," Naruto explained. "My savings aren't low yet, but that doesn't mean that I want them to get that way."

'He's so responsible,' Hinata thought.

"If I don't get a steady income, I'm gonna end up using rent money for a Wii."

'Well, it's a start...'

"I have a Wii!" Kiba shouted.

"What you have for it?" Naruto asked.

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff stuff." Kiba clapped his hands over his mouth.

"You did a double word!"

"Damn..."

"You know, if you didn't buy so much crap for your cat," Ino told him, "you wouldn't have to worry about money that much."

"It's not my cat's fault!"

"Hey, Kiba," Shikamaru called for the boy's attention. "Isn't SUburbIA hiring?"

"Oh yeah, they are. I could put in a reference for you," offered Kiba.

"Don't they only hire seasonly?" Naruto asked him.

"Well, yeah, but if you're good at what you do, they'll keep you for more than just one season."

"You could take my part-time from the flower shop," Ino said.

"Why does that sound like it's more good news for you than for me?" Naruto questioned the girl suspiciously.

"Because it would be," Tenten outed the blonde girl. "Her mother's like Charlie Chaplin and his nazi regime."

"Charlie Chaplin didn't have a nazi regime," said Neji.

"I know, but that's how I remember his name."

"By comparing him to Hitler?!"

Hinata tugged at her cousin's shirt sleeved. Neji leaned over to her and she began to whisper into his ear.

"That one cafe is hiring," Sakura put in.

"You could work at a sex shop," Kiba joked.

"Yeah, I saw an ad in my dad's magazine asking for cute li'l boys to dress up as girls," Tenten joined in.

'What the hell kind of magazine does your dad look at?' was what most of them were thinking.

"You guys are sick, sick people," Naruto told them.

"Double word!" both Kiba and Tenten yelled.

"That doesn't count!" Naruto yelled back. "I said it with a pause in between to emphasize the sickness you both display!"

"Hey, Naruto," Neji called out to him. "There's an opening at one of Hinata's father's building for a part-time mail room clerk. 1000 an hour. If your interested, we could secure it."

Naruto was quiet for only a moment. He put his lunch aside and stood up. He walked behind Hinata and lifted her up from her sitting position by grabbing her arm and pulling her up. He spun her around to face him. The only reason why she wasn't blushing madly was because of the surprise she was still in. He looked at her square in the eye then broke into an extremely large smile before glomping her uncontrollably.

"You. Are. The. Best!" Naruto exclaimed at the end and squeezed her a little more tightly.

Hinata by this point, had gotten over the shock of being lifted up by the boy she loved, was a shade of red ten times deeper than her usual blush.

Hinata's mind short circuted.

"Naruto, let her go... before you suffocate her," Neji said in a slight warning tone.

Naruto let go of Hinata, subconsciously fearing the tone of Neji's voice, with a light chuckle.

xxx

The school day was done and Kankuro was sitting at the kitchen table looking over checkbooks and his own record of sales. Envelopes containing bills were strewn around him as well as other miscellaneous papers containing details of all his customer's that he had gathered over the past couple months. There was an old beat up box with a few years worth of financial records under the table.

"Son of a fucking bitch," he mumbled.

"What is it?" Temari asked.

She wasn't that far away. She was preparing dinner while her younger brother was going over the finances. Garra... well, they didn't know where Gaara was at the moment, but they were pretty sure he was somewhere in the house.

"I'm not making enough money," he told her.

Temari set the stove to a simmering temperature and joined her brother at the table.

"What do you mean?"

"What the fuck do _**you**_ mean? What the fuck don't you understand about "I'm not making enough money"?"

"But this has never happened before. You've always been able to find clientel."

"I've been finding enough people to sell to in order to support us when we were using bare essentials," he explained. "Now there's this school's tuition, this fucking house, food, bills, supplies, Gaara's equipment, the fucking shack that I have to rent out every other night, and whatever other shit we buy..."

"We would've been fine in an apartment," she reminded him "We didn't have to get a house."

"The only apartments available were the lofts downtown. This house is cheaper."

Temari turned all this over in her head. "Lookit, I don't have to go to school. I mean, I'm pretty sick of pretending to be a seventeen year old."

"No, you're getting your diploma. We're so close to actually graduating this year, let's not fuck it up."

Temari sighed. "Alright, but if we leave here too, where ever we go next I'm not going to school. I'm not going to be a twenty-one year old senior. It was hard enough to convince them here that we're ferternal triplets."

"And what? Work off your middle school diploma?"

"Mom did it."

"And where's mom?"

Temari said nothing.

"Exactly," Kankuro said. "Just shut up and help me figure this out."

"What if you give up the shack?"

"That's impossible, everything that's in there is gonna stink up this place. That'll bring the cops in for sure."

"What if we raise up a tool shed or something?"

"Then when we open the door, not only will there be a smell, but smoke to go along with it."

Temari threw herself back in her chair with a sigh.

"If only someone would give Gaara a job," she lamented. "Then we'd be fine."

"Business has been slow for him," Kankuro agreed.

"What about my business?"

The two siblings turned their head to the door frame of the kitchen. Gaara stood there with his arms crossed against his chest and the same emotionless expression on his face.

"Nothing," Temari told him. "We were just talking about our little financial crisis and how your line of work makes more than both of ours combined."

Gaara said nothing. He only continued his steady gaze at his older siblings.

"I could probably start something that would have people come to me," he said at last.

"No, no, that's okay," Kankuro replied rather hastily. "I mean, it's perfectly fine when they come at their own free will, but it's kind of beneath us to start something."

Once again the red head was silent.

Kankuro gave out a deafeated sigh. "Temari-"

"I know," she said. "As long I have the uniform and a cell phone full of high school girls, they won't know the difference. And in all technicality, I am a high school girl. It's fine, I'll start working again. You'll be my bodyguard, won't you, Gaara?"

Gaara gave her a short nod of agreement.

"That's good," Kankuro said. "We don't need a repeat of what happend in Edo though, Temari, so just be carefull the first time."

"Leave it to me," she assured him. "My profile might say "amatuer", but I certainly am not."

She left her seat at the table and went back to her position in front of the stove.

"I'm going to have to stock up on underwear again," she thought out loud. "Do you remember how much the last pair was worth?"

Kankuro reached down and pulled up the box that rested on the floor. After a few moments of searching he found the record book he needed. He rifled through it's pages before he answered her.

"Nine thousand yen."

Temari had a pensieve look on her face.

"I think I'll raise it up to fifteen."

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	9. I, vii

xxx  
Scene VII: "To die - to sleep, no more; and by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache..."  
xxx

'It's not like, I've stopped having these thoughts... Thinking about how much I just want to end my own life.'

Hinata was in her bed. It was late at night and the entire household except for herself was in a slumber. She couldn't sleep. She had tried and failed. So now, her comforter was pushed a bit down her bed, one of her pillows had fallen to the other side, and the other was pushed to the side when she sat up with her knees to her chest. Instead of sitting in darkness she lit one of the candles she kept under her bed in case of emergencies and sat it on her night stand. She figured that if she was going to be thinking like the emo girl Tenten told her she was, she may as well look the part.

'Yes, they've been on low buner since Neji came,' she continued to think. 'but... I guess I just want to be with Hanabi again. To be honest, I don't know what's really wrong with me. It's been a while since I've tried to find the root of the problem.

'I guess... since I've been able to recognize it, I've always felt like I was worthless. Hanabi was the only family, that I felt cared for me. I was happy with her, but I guess I still wanted recognition from my father. I guess it's just important for a child to want approval from their parents. I mean, isn't that what children want? Parents are the people who are supposed to take care of you and support you throughout your life. Be proud of you and love you. It's kind of weird though... I mean, I wanted the recognition from father, but what about mother?

'I can't really remember mother. I don't think she was ever around, really. Therefore, it was like we didn't have a mother. Well, the same could be said for father. But if he wasn't doing something work related he would be at home. I think the issue with him is the whole "he is head of the household so what he approves of is approved by all" thing. Maybe...

'Anyway, I remember that stupid little childish hope of mine... That while Hanabi was here, I could take care of her as only a sister could. I really believed that I could make her better. I was such a stupid little girl... What power could I possibly have to do that? It's pitiful really... the way I dreamed and hoped so much... And when it happened... I don't know. I was completely hollow. I felt nothing but guilt and I suppose, despair. Then I just tried to ignore everthing that father said, go back to school, and be normal... but all that time, I just really wanted to die.

'I'm not even really one hundered percent sure why. And I want to blame Hanabi, for abandoning me and making me so lonely, but I know it's not her fault. I think... I think I've always wanted to die. When she was here, I connected with someone, someone who made me feel worth something. And because she made me happy, that thought was just pushed away. Then when she left, I felt empty, that desire for death escalated. But I wasn't even able to go through with a suicide. God, I'm hopeless. The only thing I could ever do is cut myself. Maybe, I was hoping that with the loss of blood, I would just eventually fade away. Or something.

'Not the healthiest way to cope, I know, but... it just kind of eased the pain. I don't know... really I don't know. Kiba freaked when he found out. He was always watching me, couldn't watch me at home though. Then Neji came and it was kind of like how when Hanabi was alive. He became a little more frantic than Kiba when it came to looking out for me. Under servaillance 24/7. Lovely.

'But still, despite the two of them, I still wanted to die. I still don't really know why. Why do I feel like this? I should be happy that I have people who care about me. I should just be like, "Forget my father, I don't care." I have Neji and Kiba and I think some of the people at school.'

She wiped away at the tears she had cried and the ones that were pooling in her eyes.

'Would Naruto care if I died? Would he be sad? Would he cry? Would my death impact him in any way?'

Her thinking stopped. Suddenly, she burst into a fit of giggles.

'I am so fucked up!'

She giggled a little harder and fell over onto her side.

xxx

'Sometimes I wonder if my parents would have been better off if I had never existed.'

Sakura was up late, but instead of being inside of her room, she was sitting on the upstairs balcony.

'Would mom be drinking? Would they be fighting like this all the time?'

She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head on her arms. She was really cold, but she didn't want to go inside just yet.

'It seems like, I'm failing at everything I do. I'm still not the best. I'm still not perfect. Mom won't ever be happy if I'm not perfect. And if she's not happy, she'll keep drinking. And if she keeps drinking, dad will stay away.'

She started to shudder.

'Then there are the times when I think, how better it would be to just drift off to sleep and never have to deal with any of this again. You know, just throw it all to the wind and be free. I wouldn't have to worry about any of this perfection business.'

She started to shiver more visibly.

'Being the best in class. No mistakes on anything. No more having to deal with things that I can't do. Things that I can't do perfectly, I wouldn't have to worry about coming into contact with any of them. I wouldn't have to worry over every answer I give, whether or not it was the correct way to answer. Always keeping what I eat in check, never reaching my goal weight.'

Her shuddering had grown more violent. Sakura started to rock back and forth to create some form of friction.

'Is it easy to die? Easier than falling asleep? Or would it be just the same? I wonder somtimes... I'm sure even I would be able to do that right. I don't know. The more I think about it, the more it sounds so inviting. Freedom by death. Dying at an early age before becoming a failure of an adult. The idea is almost romantic. Oh my God, it's cold.'

She stood up and walked back into the house. Even though it was a great deal warmer inside, she still rubbed her arms with her hands at a high speed to rid herself of the lingering chill. Her feet pattered down the hallway towards her bedroom door. Entering the room, she immediatley stepped into her bed, pulling the sheets up to her neck.

'I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight. I should start thinking about that assignment. I don't know what to do about that though.'

She sighed.

'That's what I mean. It would be so much easier just to die. Never ending sleep...'

She curled herself into a ball underneath the sheets.

'One day...'

xxx

_Date: 19, September_

_Time: 22:17_

_I've never really considered myself to be the suicidal type. There's no need to do such a stupid thing. I still don't consider myself to be suicidal, though I suppose that what I've been contemplating lately would have some people put me on a suicide watch._

_Really though, it's not like I fantasize about slitting my wrists in a bath, or hanging myself from a rafter in the attic, or anything like that. No, nothing like that. _

_I've just been thinking, what would happen, if I were to suddenly stop breathing?_

_Would my death have any impression on any members of my family? Possibly Itachi. For some reason, the idea that my death would leave some sort of mark on him gives me the creeps._

_No idea why..._

_Sometimes it seems as though I am just a replicate of my older brother and therefore can not stand out as the younger sibling in the hearts of my parents. _

_In all truth, I am just a replicate of my brother._

_In everything except his actual person._

_He has a personality in which he knows his likes and dislikes. He is more of a social butterfly and has those which he calls friends. Not to mention his outstanding dating record._

_And then there's me. _

_"Boring"._

_What my mother accidentally said to an associate of hers one afternoon. I'm sure that she didn't mean to say it in front of me. She just didn't notice that I was still in the room._

_That seems to happen a lot._

_So, yes, when I think about my death, I wonder whether or not any of them would actually feel something. And not just a show of emotions because I was their son and brother._

_Real grief. Real sorrow._

_And what about my peers at school?_

_I'm sure the fanclub would grieve, for all the wrong reasons._

He paused in his writing as a sudden thought hit him.

_Hinata... If I didn't leave an impact on her, well, then I may as well be condemed to Hell. Her I wouldn't mind calling friend. More than a friend. Any title connecting me with her as long as it showed a bond we had. _

_I wonder what she would do if I died. Would she cry? Would she mean it if she cried? I'm sure she would, she is a very kind girl. _

_A world without me... It's not that hard to picture. It's not as though I'm a unique person who leaves something to be remembered by. _

_Hn. Maybe I'm just being weird right now, and all this will go away._

_Wouldn't be the first time._

Sasuke closed his journal. Not a diary, a journal. Completely different. In all retrospect of the words they really are different. Not just the spelling.

But anyway, Sasuke placed it back in the top drawer of his desk and walked to his closet. He pulled out a set of pajamas and changed quickly. He pulled the blankets of his bed down and climbed into it. He fell asleep instantly.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	10. I, viii

xxx  
Scene VIII: "'And now about the cauldron sing...Enchanting all that you put in."  
xxx

Naruto walked down the second floor hallway on his way to the rooftop to meet with whoever decided to come up and have lunch. He merrily hummed a tune and rocked his head to it a little more than enthusiastically. He looked like a total dork, but a happy one. He was going past the history class rooms when Iruka popped his head out from his door.

"Naruto," he said. "Could you come in for a minute."

Naruto gave him the most innocent face he could muster.

"I didn't do it!" he cried. "It was Kiba's idea! I swear!"

"No, Naruto, it's nothing like that," the teacher sighed.

"Oh, well then... okay."

Naruto walked into the classroom. He sat on one of the desktops in the front while Iruka sat behind his desk. Naruto waited to be reprimanded for sitting ontop of the desk instead of in, or rather just stand while Iruka spoke. It never came though, what Iruka did say shocked him more than anything had recently.

"I never asked," he began. "How was your summer?"

Naruto stared at the man incredulously

"What?"

"How was your summer," Iruka repeated.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei," Naruto slowly said. "But it's just kind of weird for you to stop being a complete ass after three weeks and ask something that would represent some sort of consideration."

Iruka frowned. "I'm going to let go of the insult, only because it's true. Yes, I've been a little hard on you kids-"

"A little?!"

Iruka scowled at Naruto, telling him that just because he fogave him for calling him an ass, didn't mean he would take total disrespect. Naruto raised his hands a little in surrender.

"Anyway," Iruka continued, "I've been hard on you all for entirely selfish reasons and now I'm going to try to make up for that."

"That's good, it's kind of hard not looking forward to your favorite class."

Iruka's eyes smiled. "Really? Favorite class?"

Naruto considered it. "Well, maybe second favorite. Lit. with Kakashi-sensei's pretty cool too."

Iruka drooped his head in defeat. He recovered quickly and said, "So anyway, how was your summer?"

Naruto shrugged. "It was okay. I hung around with Kiba and them. Jiraiya too and Tsunade when she was there. Um... did my homework."

"That's it?"

"Oh! And that bonfire down by the lake! That was fun! Kiba's plan to get Shino sooo drunk went through, he was spinning like mad around the fire in the buff!"

Naruto laughed madly while Iruka just looked upon the blonde with mild amusement. Naruto calmed himself down from his laughter and sighed happily.

"He won't hang out with any of us outside of school right now, but it was worth it!"

He went into another small fit of chuckles.

"If that's all then, sensei," Naruto said and hopped off the desk, "I'm kind of hungry. That and I gotta plan with the guys what we'll do tonight."

Iruka nodded his consent and watched Naruto reach for the door.

"Naruto, don't do anything reckless," he told the teen.

Naruto flashed his teacher a smile. "Where would the fun be in that?!"

The blonde boy bolted out of the room and ran towards the thrid floor staircase. Being as excited as he was just for the very fact that it was Friday, he didn't remember the renovations that were being made near the stairwell's landing. He turned the corner sharply and slipped on the tarp that was placed to avoid the floor from being splattered by paint. By slipping on the tarp, he collided into the ladder, that knocked over the makeshift shelf holding the paint cans. One paint can knocked into the next until the last one broke through the window and fell to the ground floor.

Naruto watched the series of events with wide eyes. Only when he heard a yell and the object that had fallen come into contact with something below did he snap out of his reverie. He did the only thing that seemed rational at the time. He jumped up and ran like hell up the stairs.

xxx

Lee was walking towards Tenten and the rest of the girls. He wanted to catch her before she had met up with the rest of her friends, but seeing as how that wasn't possible, he would just have to ask her to speak with him in private.

He walked with confidence, nothing was going to stop him this time! He was near the group of girls when a shattering above him sounded. As he stopped and turned his head upwards, a girl from across the courtyard screamed when she saw the heavy object fall downwards as a warning. Seeing that glass was falling as well, Lee threw his head back down with his eyes shut and used his arms to protect the back of his neck. He leaped backwards, but to no avail he was still hit with a blow to the head by the unopened can of paint. He fell forward and landed uncomfortably on small pieces of broken glass.

Several of the students nearby ran to his aid. Tenten being the first to reach, turned him over onto his back. She looked down into his face and called out his name.

Lee opened his eyes hazily and looked up into her face. He murmured her name and watch her eyes widen and swell with water. He tried to open his mouth again to say something, but closed his eyes and blacked out.

xxx

Neji couldn't say that the silence around the dinner table was odd. Meals they shared with his uncle always had limited conversation, but lately the atmosphere around his cousin and her father when in the same room had grown more tense. Wanting to get to the bottom of this, he excused himself immediately after Hinata. The two of them walked out of the dinning room in silence. They didn't say a word until they were both behind Hinata's closed door.

"I hope Lee's okay," Hinata was the first to break the silence. "Tenten was really upset. I've never seen her act like that."

"Naruto too, for that matter," Neji said. "He was like a mother hen at the hospital. Even though Lee wasn't awake to notice what he was doing."

"Naruto is just a very considerate person."

"Hn." Neji decided to change the subject. "Hinata, what happened that day you went out with your father? You came home hours after him."

He chose his words bluntly to see the instant reaction they would have on her facial expression.

It worked.

However brief the flicker in her eyes went by, Neji caught it nevertheless. Her eyes at that moment, were a resemblance to the ones that he first set his sight on her.

Vacant.

Even if he didn't know what had happened between his two family memebers, he knew his cousin well enough to know what those eyes showed exactly what she had been contemplating recently.

In an instant, he reached out for her and pulled her into an embrace.

"Stop it," he pleaded. "Whatever happened between the two of you isn't enough to go back to being the way you were."

"Neji," she spoke in a low tone. "I don't believe I ever stopped being the way I was."

Neji pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"No," he said. "No, you did change. You got better."

"I thought I did too. I though that with you and Kiba, I could get better."

"You did though! You stopped crying every night, you laughed more, smiled more, you stopped hurting yourself."

Hinata looked away. She was unable to look into his eyes any longer once that was said.

"You stopped hurting yourself," Neji repeated.

Hinata said nothing.

"You didn't cut yourself again, right?"

Hinata screwed her eyes shut.

"Hinata, no!"

He shook her once and she opened her eyes and turned to face him once more.

"Just once," she whispered.

"Why?"

"Just once. Just that one time."

Neji couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You said you wouldn't go back, Hinata. You said as long as I cared about you, that would be enough."

"I'm beginning to think," she said sadly, "that it isn't enough..."

Neji felt a stabbing sensation in his chest. He scooted a little away from his cousin and regarded with hurt eyes.

xxx

Ino walked across Sakura's front yard to get to the front door. She had borrowed Sakura's cell phone before practice and had forgotten to return it.

"Gah! Coach really put us through hell today," she mumbled to herself.

Ino reached the door and knocked.

No answer.

She knocked again.

"I know Sakura's home. We didn't have anything plan and she should be back from visiting Lee."

She tested the lock out of curiosity. The door opened without a hitch. Ino peeked in and saw nothing but darkness. She stepped in.

"Pardon the intrusion."

She slipped her shoes off and proceeded to explore the seemingly abandoned house. She wandered up the staricase. The upstairs hall was also dark. Ino saw that there was light coming from the bottom of Sakura's door. She approached the door and turned the handle slowly so that anyone on the other side wouldn't notice. She opened it a crack to see what was going on.

Her eyes widened. She screamed and bursted through the door and tackled the pink haired girl onto her bed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ino started to cry.

Sakura looked up at her. Her face revealing nothing.

Ino looked behind her. The chair had broken when she had collided with the girl unerneath her. She turned her eyes upward to the makeshift noose hanging from the light fixture. She renched her eyes away and turned them back to Sakura.

"Why?" she asked.

"They left me," Sakura said. "They finally left me."

"What?"

Sakura didn't answer her. She started sobbing.

Ino lifted herself off and pulled her into a hug.

'I don't know what the fuck is going on,' she thought. 'I should get her out of this room.'

She hoisted her friend up and led her downstairs. Ino decided to take her into the kitchen. Maybe getting her something to drink would calm her down and tell her what had happened. She flicked the light switch and squinted at the sudden brightness. She sat Sakura down at the table, walked over to the fridge and pulled out a water bottle. She put the bottle down on the table and sat down next to her.

"What happened?" Ino asked again, opening the bottle and pushing it towards the still sobbing girl.

Sakura sniffed and hesitantly took up the bottle. She sipped a small gulp and let out a sigh.

"Sakura," Ino pursued.

Sakura refused to look at the blonde next to her.

"They left me Ino," she said at last. "They finally left me. I alway knew that they would just give up on me and leave."

Ino's brows furrowed in confusion. "What are talking about?"

"My parents! I came home and no one was here! I thought that maybe mom had gong to a bar or something with one of her friends and dad was still out working, but then it got later and they still didn't show! I know that they haven't been doing things together so they didn't go out and even if they did they'd be back by now wouldn't they!"

"Maybe you're just exasperating the whole situation. Sakura they wouldn't just leave town and not take you with them."

"Neji's parents did it to him, so why can't mine do it to me! I'm a failure to them as a daughter, Ino, that's the only excuse they would need!"

Sakura started to cry again. Harder this time.

Ino couldn't believe what she was hearing. True, she didn't know Sakura's parents very well. Just that her mother was a drunk and her father disliked being at home with his wife in her condition. Still, this didn't sound like something that would happen. Ino doubted greatly that whatever caused their marriage to fall into this mess wasn't because of their daughter.

Suddenly, a folded paper on the refridgerator door caught Ino's eye. She got up and stalked over to it. The paper had Sakura labled on it. She snatched it from underneath the magnet and opened it.

_Sakura,_

_I took you mother over to your aunt's house for the weekend. She's been very lately so your mom thought she might be able to help and maybe sober up. You know how far it is, so I might not be back until tomorrow early morning. Hopefully, I'll be home late tonight. If not, then there's some money on the counter for food. If you want you can invite Ino over to keep you company._

_Dad._

Ino groaned. She became just a little angry over the fact that Sakura had decided to just kill herself over an assumption. She went back over to the now sniffling girl and put the note in front of her face. She watched as Sakura read it and looked up at the blonde.

"Oh," was all she said.

Ino sighed and flipped Sakura's cell phone open. She dialed home.

"Mom," she said when the other line picked up, "I'm gonna stay the night at Sakura's."

xxx

"Naruto, man, you okay?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"

Kiba leaned back in his seat. "You seem tense and stuff."

'You would be too if you almost killed a guy,' Naruto thought.

"Anyway," Naruto said not wanting to give off that it was his fault that Lee was in the hospital. "What'd Shikamaru do to get grounded?"

"Finally told off Gai-sensei," Kiba told him with a stupid grin. "Then when his mom was in Principal Tsunade's office, he told all three of them that he didn't come to school everyday just to play with his balls."

They started howling with laughter causing many people in the club to glare at them. Chouji laughed so hard that soda squirted out of his nose.

"Ow! Damn, that hurts!" he yelled swiping at his nose. This only caused Naruto and Kiba to laugh harder. Kiba reached for one of the food baskets on their table.

"Huh?" He didn't feel anything. He looked into it, only to find it empty. He looked in all of the other baskets and found nothing. "Chouji did you eat all the food?"

"Wha? Did-" His sentence was interrupted by a burp.

"I guess that's a yes," Naruto joked.

'Crap, I pigged out again,' Chouji thought sadly. 'I'm probably even fatter now.'

"Don't freak over it!" Naruto told him and slapped him on the back. "It's pay day, betches!"

Naruto lept over the booth and made his way to the food bar.

Kiba's cell phone rang. He flipped it open and looked at the caller ID before anwering.

"Ten for a suck, twenty for a fuck," he laughed. "... Because if it was my mom I wouldn't have answered like that... Caller ID, biatch... What is it?... Would it be okay for me to come over right now?... I don't know, man, he may not care a whole lot about her, but damn, can he be overprotective... Yeah, but you know what happened last time... Alright, I'll be right there... Yeah, it's not like it's for you... Don't be a queer, Neji... 'Kay then, see ya."

He hung up. "I got to get going," he told Chouji. "Tell Naruto, I'll see him later."

"Where you going?" Chouji asked.

"Over to Hinata's," he answered. "I got to go do something." He shifted out from behind the table and took off for the exit.

Chouji watched him leave and slid himself from behind the table to go out. He pushed through the doors himself a short while after Kiba went through and went down the opposite direction.

Naruto came back to the table with some more food baskets and found his friends had ditched him.

He swore beneath his breath, "Fucking assholes."

xxx

Chouji didn't know why he had ditched Naruto back there. He just felt that maybe a walk would do him good. He turned a corner and saw someone familiar.

"Hey, I know you don't I?" he asked the guy as he approached him.

Kankuro looked him over. "Yeah," he answered. "You're that fat kid in my bio chem and history class."

Chouji became affronted after hearing the word "fat". "I'm not that fat!"

"Says you."

Three girls approached the two of them. They looked really giddy, one of them wouldn't stop giggling.

"Um... hi," the one in the middle said. The other girl joined the giggling one in her small laughter.

"Hey there, gorgeous," Kankuro said to her. "What can I do for you?"

The one in the middle giggled with her friends. Finally she composed herself. "Um... how much can I get for this?"

She held out three bills.

"Depends on what you're looking for," he told her.

"The one that helps you lose weight," The first giggling girl said. "My sister says that's what she used."

"Oh, you mean this." He pulled out a small bag filled with white powder from the inside of his jacket.

The girls giggled.

"Does it really work?" The middle one asked.

"And how."

He handed them the bag and took the money from the middle girl's outstretched hand. With their purchase in hand the girls trotted off on their merry way.

Chouji watched the whole scene with bewildering eyes.

"You," he said and pointed at the boy. "You're a drug dealer?!"

"If you wanna label me."

Chouji was still in a bit of shock. "But... how?"

"It's not that hard. You can learn how to do a lot of stuff just by watchig TV. Now you gonna buy something? 'Cause if not, you can leave."

"What?! No!"

"Then what the hell are you still doing here?"

Chouji turned around to make his way back to the club. If he was lucky, Naruto wouldn't have left already. He started to walk but after a few steps he stopped. Those girls had boughten something to lose weight.

'No,' he argued in his mind. 'Drugs are bad. But if they can help me lose some weight... No, they're still bad. But would it hurt to ask?'

He turned his head to look back at the boy behind him.

"What did they mean by losing weight?" he asked, walking back over to Kankuro.

Kankuro smirked. "Girls come by a lot to buy some Speed. They call it a diet drug."

"Does it work?"

He reached into his bag and pulled a straw packet. "You interested?"

"Just answer my question."

"Yeah, it works. Why do you want to know?"

"Just... nothing." Chouji looked away.

"Hn. I know what a lot of people say about drugs. Truth is, as long as you know how to use them and handle them, you're completely fine."

"What?"

"Yeah, I mean, overdosing doesn't only happen with meth and heroine. Prescription medicines, asprins, anti-acids, hell even cough medicines can be lethal. No drug is dangerous as long as you know how to use it."

Chouji said nothing for a few moments. "Really?"

"Well, yeah. Don't you think I would know what I'm talking about?"

Once again, Chouji was at a loss for words.

"Here." Kankuro threw him the small straw wrapper.

Chouji caught it. "I don't have any money."

"Call it a small gift," Kankuro told him. "Use it if ya want. If you do and don't like it, then at least you didn't waste any money right?"

Kankuro walked off towards his next location.

"See ya Monday," he called to Chouji.

Chouji could have easily just dropped it right then and there, walk away and find Naruto. Just pretend that this had never happened. Instead he pocketed the wrapper and decided to go home.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	11. I, ix

xxx  
Scene IX: "I have heard of your paintings well enough."  
xxx

"So Teten," Ino eyed the brown eyes girl over her menu. "Have you professed your love to Lee yet?"

Tenten snorted into the glass of water she was sipping from. Both Sakura and Hinata laughed. They were sitting in a rounded booth at _Vive_, the french restraunt downtown. It was Ino's initial idea to go out for dinner with all the girls.

"What?!" She half asked half cried. "Why would you ask something like that?"

"Well, you were going a little crazy when he got hit yesterday," Sakura said.

"I was just scared," Tenten explained. "I mean, I've known the boy for like, forever. He's one of my closest friends, why wouldn't I be worried?"

"I was just kidding," Ino said. "Relax."

"I kind of wasn't" Sakura teased. "Come on Tenten, why not? Can't you imagine the babies?"

Tenten shuddered.

"No thanks," she told them.

"But Lee is a nice guy," Hinata said.

"If you like him, you can have."

Hinata's cheeks went pink.

"Stop teasing her," Ino nudged the brown eyed girl next to her. "You know she has a thing for _Naaaruutoo_."

She dragged out the boys name for extra emphasis causing Hinata's face to redden.

"Inooo," she whined. "Please, stop."

"Oh come on, lighten up a bit. It took ages to convince Neji to let you out of his sight for dinner, let's just have some fun and gossip."

"Okay, you know gossiping doesn't mean talk only about Sasuke," Tenten said.

"What else would you want to talk about?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Okay, fine," Ino directed to Tenten. "Let's talk about your love life. Who've you been crushin' on?"

Tenten's face tinted pink. She buried herself in her menu. "You guys know what you're getting?"

"Come on, Tenten!" Sakura cried, yanking the menu from her. "You know all about us, what about you?"

"What about me? I'm not that interesting. Look, the waiter."

The waiter came up to their table and asked them if they were ready to order. Hinata ordered first, asking for a chicken and mushroom crepe. Tenten went next, ordering le steak-frites. Ino went with a fish filet and Sakura ordered a dry salad.

"That's it?" Tenten asked her.

Sakura nodded. "I'm not particularly fond of french food."

"You should have said something," Ino said to her. "We would have gone somewhere else."

"No, it's okay, really."

The waiter left with their orders and the girls went back to small talk. Ino participating in most of it, Hinata not really saying anything, but enjoyed the listening.

Fifteen minutes later, the waiter came back with their food. They took turns sampling each other's plates, except Sakura, who politely declined each offer.

Halfway through their meal, Tenten saw someone familiar.

Tenten lowered her head down and motioned for the others to do likewise.

"It's Temari," she whispered and pointed to their classmate who had just walked in with a man who seemed to be older than her.

Way older.

"Who is that?" Sakura asked.

"Her grandfather?" Ino threw at them.

"He seems the right age," Hinata agreed with her.

"But they don't have any family, right?" Tenten countered. "That's what they said their first day, remember?"

"Shh! They're coming this way!" Ino warned them all.

They all looked down into their plates, suddenly taking an extreme interest in their food, not talking too each other. The hostess led Temari and her companion past their table and sat them in the rounded booth behind them. The only thing seperating their tabled being the thickness of the fake plants in the middle of the booth seats. It was like at some of those restraunts that have booths back to back, but to try to give some privacy to the seperate customers, they'll put some sort of object in between the booth seats. Usually plants. This was their case.

Ino motioned for them to stay quiet. All of them (even Hinata) scooted towards the middle to eavesdrop on Temari's conversation. It sounded innocent enough at the beginning, but then it got a little more interesting.

"Are you still a virgin?" the old man asked.

Temari giggled. "It's a secret," she said sweetly.

"Oh, come now, you can tell me," said the old man.

Temari giggled some more.

"Maaaybe, with the right incentive..." Temari trailed off.

The old man chuckled. "I get it. Ten more?"

"That's less than what you gave me earlier!" Temari cried mockingly.

He chuckled again. "Okay, twenty more."

"Tell you what," she started out slyly, "I'll take the twenty, you take what's under the skirt, and we'll save the big thing for next time."

"What about under the shirt?"

Temari laughed. "Well, alright. Just because I like you so much."

They laughed together.

"Is everything alright?"

The girls jumped at the sudden intrusion of the waiter.

"We're fine!" Sakura was unable to control the volume of her voice.

"Sakura!" both Ino and Tenten hissed warningly at her.

"Can we have the check, please?" Ino asked.

The waiter blinked a few times. "Alright then."

He walked off and the four girls let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey guys!" Temari poked her head through the rubber plants.

They immediately paled. Sakura was the first to recover.

"H-hey, Temari," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just hanging out with a friend. Come on over."

"Are... Are you sure that's okay?"

"Yeah, come on!"

Sakura looked at Ino. Ino looked at Tenten. Tenten looked at Hinata. Hinata shrugged. They scooted out from behind their table and hesitantly walked around and faced the front of Temari's.

"Odajima, these are some of my friends from school," Temari introduced.

"Hello, girls," the old man said with a smile.

"Hello," they chorused.

"You don't mind if they join us do you?" Temari asked the man next to her.

"No, no," he said pleasently. "The more the better."

"We already had dinner," Ino said. "And besides, we'd hate to intrude on your... outing?"

She looked to the other girls for acknowledgment of saying the right word. She received no confirmation.

"Then how about some dessert?" Odajima offered. "My treat."

'I'll bet,' they thought.

"No, really, we're fine," Sakura told them. "Dessert isn't really all that necessary."

"Yeah," Ino joined in. "I'm stuffed. No way I could eat more."

Hinata meekly nodded in agreement. Tenten on the other hand, wanted to know what exaclty Temari was doing.

'It's obvious though that they don't want to be around this creepy old guy,' she thought. 'I know.'

"Oh no!" Tenten cried mockingly. "I feel the need to use the restroom,and seeing as how us girls always go together, we should go... together... Temari, will you come with us? Seeing as how we're friends, and all girls?"

"Um... sure," she said. "Excuse us, 'kay?"

"Don't take too long."

"I won't!" Temari cooed back at him, sliding from behind the table and following the girl quartet into the ladies restroom.

Once they were inside, Tenten did a search of all the stalls to ensure their solitude. Once she was positive they were alone, she turned on Temari.

"What the hell was that?!" she questioned the girl.

"What are you talking about?" Temari asked her.

Ino, finally understanding Tenten's less than convincing performance, rounded on the girl as well. "The old guy, Temari, what's the story with him?"

Temari understood now. "Oh, that. Nothing, just a date."

"What?!" They shrieked. Except Hinata who was in a state of quiet shock.

"What the hell?" Sakura asked. "What is he? Like Fifty?"

"Sixty one," Temari answered.

"Eeeewwww."

"Why?" Tenten asked.

Temari huffed impatiently. "Look, if you wanna know, I can explain tomorrow if you want. I'm working right now."

Tenten grabbed at her arm. "Are you selling yourself?"

"What?!" she cried and yanked her arm back. "Of course not! It's just a date."

"But you said something about selling your underwear," Ino accused. "Or at least that's what you made it sound like."

Temari sighed impatiently. "Like I said, I can explain it better tomorrow, if you want to know all the details about it. Do you wanna know?"

"Kind of."

"Sort of."

"Maybe."

Hinata said nothing.

"Just come by my house, alright," she told them. She walked out the bathroom and left them standing there.

xxx

"I know that all of you want to know what last night was about," Hinata said quietly. "But did I have to come along?"

The girl quartet walked past the fence posts of Temari's home. They stood in a small group on the miniature front porch. Sakura knocked on the door.

"Come on, Hinata," she said. "Don't you want to know what she was doing with a sixty year old date?"

"I really don't think it's any of my business."

"Didn't seem like that when you were eavesdropping with the rest of us," Tenten told her, 'causing Hinata to flush out of embarassment.

"I'm kind of scared," Ino said suddenly.

"Why?" Sakura asked her.

"Not about what she was doing," Ino explained. "Going into the house. Temari's like our friend and Kankuro's okay you know? But it's the other one..."

They all agreed silently and prayed that the red head was not home.

The front door opened and revealed Temari on the other side.

"Hey again," she greeted. "Come on in."

She stepped back and let the door open wider to let the group inside.

"The living room's to the left," she told them. "I'll bring us snacks and stuff."

While Temari walked into the kitchen, the other girls went into the living room and sat down around the coffee table. Temari came into the room with a tray of jelly filled onigiri, odango, and tea. Each girl took a cup and the snack of their choice.

"Alright," Temari said. "First question?"

Tenten raised her hand.

"You don't have to raise your hand, but whatever, Tenten."

Tenten lowered her hand sheepishly. "Well, Temari, you told us that you were on a date, why were on a date with a sixty year old man?"

"Sixty-one."

"Whatever."

"Well, Kankuro wasn't making a lot of money with his night job, and I had a friend from our hometown who used to go on dates with older men for money."

"Do you have sex with them?"

"What?! No! It's just a one time thing, I never see them again. It's all an act."

"How much do you make?" Ino asked.

"It usually ranges from five to twenty thousand yen a date, you can also make extra money by selling underwear to the guys."

"Ewww. That's gross."

"Girls do this?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Temari said. "It's not that uncommon. It's called Enjo Kosai, Compensated Dating."

"If you were going to say it in English, then why bother saying it in Japanese?"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Ino pointed out. "Said in English and translated in Japanese?"

"Well, if you think about it, are we speaking English or Japanese?" Tenten questioned the blonde.

"Well," Hinata finally spoke up, "we're in Japan, so we should be speaking Japanese, but this is written in English."

"I don't think we're supposed to know that this is being written," Temari told her.

"Why not?!" Ino cried. "If you can read fanfiction in a fanfic, then why not be in total awareness that your every move is controlled by a power that is?"

"Power that is?"

"You know, people say "powers that be", and this is like, present tense... I don't know."

"I thought this was like a play in prose," Hinata said.

"I don't think a play can be in prose," Sakura told her. "Then it wouldn't be a play, it would just be a story."

"Well, you can't really have a play, then it would be in "chatspeak" and those are against the rules."

"What rules?"

"Rules made by powers greater than the power that is," said Ino simply.

"What?!"

"Going back a bit," Tenten said, "I don't think that the ones in the fanfic where they were reading fanfiction knew that they were in a fanfic themselves."

"Really?" Ino contemplated. "So, it was like their actions were still a mystery to them."

"Are our actions a mystery to us?"

"No," Temari told her. "This is kind of us acting and going by a script."

"There's a script?!"

"Don't you remember in the beginning beginning?"

"Double word!" Tenten yelled.

"Shut up, but yeah, Shino was rehearsing lines and we were in a green room."

"Yeah, I still don't get that..." Sakura confessed.

"So is this real?" Hinata asked.

"I guess... Oh my God, is it? Like, are we living?"

"I think we're living, Sakura!" Ino exclaimed towards the girl.

"No, I know we're alive, but I mean, is this our life life?"

"Double word!"

"Tenten, shut up!"

"I don't think we should have delved this far," Hinata told them all.

"I think you're right," Temari agreed. "Let's just forget about this and go back."

"To the script?" questioned Ino.

"Let's just go back!"

The five girls took a deep breath and sat in silence for a minute or two.

"Yeah," Temari repeated. "It's not that uncommon. It's called En-... Compensated Dating."

"Compensated Dating?" All four of them repeated the last words spoken by the other girl.

"Yeah, it's those matchmaking sites you know? Just by touring the site, you can make some money, but the real cash comes from actually meeting the guys."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Sakura asked.

"No, as long as you know what you're doing, you should be fine. I mean, I'm pretty sure that all of us are smart enough not to get in a car with a total stranger. Or go anywhere that wasn't a public place with them. Right?" Temari asked them.

"Yeah, I get what you're saying," said Ino.

"You guys want to try it out?" Temari asked them. "I get one hundred yen for each person I get to join."

"Sounds like a good paying gig. I could get into it," Tenten confessed.

"Are you serious?!" asked Sakura.

"Well, yeah, I mean it's not like your having sex with the guy or anything. It's just hanging out, right Temari?"

"Yeah, and if you seriously have a problem with the man, it's not like you can't just walk out."

"Yeah."

Sakura looked at Ino. Ino shrugged.

"You don't have to sell your underwear, right?" Ino questioned.

"No, if you don't want to, you don't have to," Temari reassured her.

Ino turned back to Sakura and shrugged again.

"I'll do it," said Tenten.

"We could do one together," Ino told Sakura.

They looked at Hinata.

"Um... Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll pass," the quiet Hyuuga girl said.

"Are you sure?" asked Temari.

Hinata nodded.

"So when do we start?" Tenten asked enthusiastically.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	12. I, x

xxx  
Scene X: "The love not poison that do need poison."  
xxx

"Lee!"

He turned around to see Tenten running up to him.

"What are you doing?" she gasped out, catching her breath.

"I believe I am going to school, Tenten," he heard himself say.

'That was strange,' he thought. 'I was able to answer her as I had before I had developed any romantic feelings for her.'

"Are you okay to go back to school?" Her voice drenched with concern. "Your accident only happened three days ago, and your head is still all wrapped-"

"I asure you, Tenten, that I am as strong as ever. As long as I am in my-"

"Springtime of youth," she finished for him. "Yeah, I know Lee. As long as you have that, you'll be fine right?"

Lee stared at the girl in bewilderment before breaking into a wide smile.

"Yes!" he laughed. "Yes! That is right, Tenten! That is most indefinelty right!"

Tenten gave a small chuckle. "Well, it's not that hard to guess, Lee. It's only your most common phrase. Come on, I'll walk to school with you."

'She likes me,' Lee thought as he walked with her, listening happily to her chatter away. 'She must, she knows me so well.'

xxx

Lee was able to get out of Stats at the ten minute bell. He hurried to the third floor where Tenten's locker would be.

When he reached her locker he opened his backpack and pulled out a green envelope with a wax seal. He slid the item into one of the locker slots. He smiled brightly as he heard the envelope land on something inside softly.

As quietly as he had approached, he slinked away.

xxx

Tenten opened her locker to get her lunch. Reaching for her bento, she noticed a green envelope sitting ontop of the lucnch box. Curiously, she reached for it and looked it over. It was a standard envelope despite the abnormal color. There was a wax seal keeping it shut. White, with the design of a flower.

She slipped her finger underneath the flap and slid it across, breaking the seal in two. Opening it, she lifted out an unlined cream colored piece of paper folded in half. She flipped it open and read the contents. It read:

_"Doubt that the stars are fire,  
__Doubt that the sun doth move,  
__Doubt truth to be a liar,  
__But never doubt I love._

_I have not art to reckon my groans. But that I love thee best, of, most best, believe it. Adieu. Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him."_

Tenten looked up from the note with a flushed face.

'A love note!' she thought happily. 'From Kiba? It could be! No one signed it.'

She looked to her left where she saw the boy of her dreams open his own locker to put his items away. She continued to watch him until he felt her eyes on him. He turned his head and saw her looking his way. He casually waved a hello to her and she in turn returned it. Kiba closed his locker and walked away. Tenten stood in front of her own locker, still watching his figure as it left her sight.

'He didn't do anything... what if he's embarrased? Yeah, I guess he could be. Should I bring it up?'

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. She stuffed the letter back in the envelope and put into one of her binders. She picked up her bento and slammed her locker shut.

'What if it isn't from him though?!'

She turned her head in all directions, inspecting everyone around her, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

'This might take some investigating.'

xxx

"Ino-pig, you're going to get in trouble."

The blonde looked at her pink haired friend from across the table.

"What do you mean, Forehead?" she asked.

"You," said Sakura. "If you keep missing practice just to come home with me, you're going to get into truoble."

Ino slammed her hand on the table surface, snapping her pencil in half with the force of the impact.

"Well, dammit, Sakura! If you would just fucking tell me what's wrong, I wouldn't have to worry about you!" she yelled.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Sakura yelled back.

"Right, because it's just completely normal to find someone about to hang themselves out of the blue!"

"Shut up!" hissed Sakura. She got up from her seat and stood in the kitchen doorway, making sure that her mother didn't hear any of the yelling. She listened intently, hearing nothing from upstairs, she went back to her seat.

"You don't know anything about that," she said softly.

"Exactly!" Ino concurred. "Why don't I know anything about that?"

"Because it's nothing for you to worry about. I'm fine."

"You're not fine. I've known you for ages, Sakura, and I've never seen you like that."

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. "No."

Ino looked at her with confussed eyes. "No what?"

"Just no, alright, just no."

"No what?" Ino pressed.

"I don't know, Ino! I don't know!" She threw her head into her hands and took in a gulp of breath. She looked up and said, "Please, can't we just forget about it?"

Ino looked at through analyzing eyes. She shook her head. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because, Sakura, I just want to help you."

Ino reached across the table for Sakura's hand. Sakura snatched her hand away.

"I'm fine," she said sternly.

Sakura turned back to her notebook and continued with her Physics homework. She wasn't more than halfway done and wanted to complete it before beginning anything else.

Ino regarded her friend sadly. She softly massaged her temples and gave a deafeated sigh. Some way or another, she was determined to get Sakura to talk to her.

xxx

Chouji was finally "cleaning" his room up. Note the quotations around the cleaning. Although his mother was under the impression that her son was dutifully making his sleeping quarters spotless, Chouji, like any other person of the younger generation would do, was throwing random items into his closet, under his bed, etc., etc...

During the process, he had picked up his jacket and went through the pockets. Mostly out of habit and also to check if there was any spare money. He pulled out the straw packet Kankuro had given him last week.

'I forgot this was here...' He stared at the object and made his way to his bed, sitting down

As fate would have it, his stomach growled loudly.

'So if I take this, I'll lose weight? And I can stop at anytime? Because it's like all of those other over the counter stuff. And I'll be fine as long as I don't go overboard or anything.'

His stomach rumbled again and without a second thought, he ripped the minute packet open and poured the contents into his mouth.

He cringed at the bitter taste of the powdery substance as it ran over his tounge and down his throat. He scraped his tounge against the back of his teeth to make sure it was gone.

He waited.

Nothing.

Chouji sighed, "That was lame."

He sat in silence for a few minutes before deciding to go downstairs. He stood up and stepped forward. He gasped. Chouji looked down at his feet and took another step forward. It looked and felt as though is feet weren't even touching the floor. The hair on his arms and back of his neck stood on end. He felt an extreme cold sensation start from the base of his neck and spread downwards across his spine. He moved forward again, a bit too fast and spun around in a full circle heavily. The colors in his room glowed brighter, forcing his eyes to adjust to the swirl of semi-neon. He moved backwards unti the backs of his legs hit the bed, falling onto his back. He layed there, in stillness. He started laughing when he felt something tickling the bottoms of his feet.

Suddenly he jumped off from his bed and half-ran to his computer. He pressed own on the space bar waking it up from it's sleep state. As the computer started to form his desktop, he sat down and clicked onto his Language essay.

The rest of his night consisited of an unending stop of clicking and clacking as he typed ferociously. The only stop to his consistency was when his mother knocked on his bedroom door, telling him that breakfast was ready and to hurry up for school. Snapped out of his working phase, Chouji glanced out of his window, already seeing the light penetrate from beneath the blinds.

'What the hell happened to me?'

He read over the last few sentences he had written and saw that he was more or less, already finished it. He saved it and turned off the machinery. He got up and stretched, noticing the soreness in the muscles that were forced to stay in a sitting position for an entire night. He quickly readied for school and as he had finished he overheard his mother answering the door. No doubt it was Shikamaru. He came out of his room and went down the stairs greeting his friend who was still in the entry hall. Instead of turning to the kitchen for food, he headed directly for the door.

"You're not going to eat anything?" Shikamaru asked.

"Believe it or not," Chouji said. "I'm not hungry."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Chouji..."

"No, really," Chouji hurridely assured his friend. "Nothing dangerous I swear it! It's probably just lack of sleep that's making me not hungry."

"Lack of sleep?"

"Yeah, I sort of stayed up all night."

"Doing what?"

"I think my essay."

"You think?"

Chouji shrugged.

"Whatever. Well then, if you're not going to eat, let's get going."

The pair went off in the same direction they always have. The morning held nothing new for Chouji, he thought nothing about what he had down last night. Until he saw Kankuro go through the school's front doors with his siblings. Out of nowhere he felt his back pocket, making sure that his wallet was there.

'It wasn't making me hungry,' he thought. 'Maybe just one more...'

As soon as Shikamaru headed for his own homeroom, Chouji walked fast to catch up with Kankuro. He caugt up to him right outside of the other's homeroom class.

"What is it?" asked Kankuro.

"How much?"

xxx

It was already past 10 pm on Friday night when Ino and Sakura came out of a karaokee bar laughing.

"Thanks for the night out!" Ino called out to the man that they had accompanied.

"Yeah!" Sakura joined in. "We really had some fun!"

"Anytime girls," he called back at them.

The two girls walked down the street twoards their next destination.

"That wasn't so bad," said Sakura.

"No, it really wasn't," Ino agreed. She handed her one of the two bills. Their companion for the night had given them a total of twenty thousand yen.

"He wasn't even that old," Ino went on. "And here I thought that we would end up with some ancient pervert like Temari last week."

"I don't know, forty's still kind of ancient."

"Could be worse."

"True that."

Ino laughed out again. "Still, this beats the flower shop."

"I bet!"

They continued their mirthfull laugh and stopped in front of a small cafe looking shop.

"In here?" questioned Ino.

Sakura flipped her cell phone open and checked her e-mail. "Yeah, this is it. We're supposed to meet someone called the 'Toad Sage'."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Bet he looks like a toad."

"Eww, that'd be gross."

"Buuuut, it's another twenty for both of us," she pointed out.

"Exactly," laughed Sakura.

They linked arms and both entered at the same time. A strong smell of coffee hit their noses instanly. The cafe had a warm haze to it, almost making it difficult for them to breathe regularly after being out in the cold. They searched their way through the tables filled with other people laughing and chatting away.

Sakura checked her e-mail again. "He says that he has a really long ponytail."

"Yeah, that'll be easy to spot," Ino snorted. "Hair color?"

"White."

"Eww, so he is old."

"I guess, but hey, we could be stuck with a perv."

"Sakura, all these guys on these sites are pervs."

Sakura laughed again. "I guess so, huh?"

Suddenly, Ino pointed towards a back table. "Is that him?"

Sakura looked in the direction she was pointing towards. "Yeah, I think so."

They strolled up to the man sitting at the back table.

"Are you the 'Toad Sage'?" Ino asked first.

"Why, yes I am," the elderly man said. "You two must be Hana and Anita."

"That's right," Ino assured.

A thought came to Sakura.

"Aren't you that guy that lives across from Naruto?" she asked.

The elderly man looked at the two of them in shock.

"You two know Naruto?!"

"Kind of, I guess," Ino said.

"Yeah, he's like a friend," said Sakura.

The old man looked a little red in the face.

"Oh, well, I didn't know that you knew the brat," he said all at once. He got up from his seat and dropped some bills onto the table. "Excuse me, please, hate to be rude, but I must go."

He quickly rushed out of the shop leaving the two girls looking after him with a bemused expression.

"I think he was embarrased," Ino said to Sakura.

Sakura started to laugh again.

xxx

Tenten sat inside of the Italian restraunt with a man that was at least 40 years older than her. All in all though, she was having a very fun time.

"So what's your real name?" the old man named Kazuo asked her.

"Tenten," she answered simply, sipping from her drinking straw.

"Lovely. Does that symbolize you being a perfect ten?"

Tenten laughed at this. "Wouldn't that be great? I'm nowhere near perfect."

"No, you shouldn't say such a thing. You're young and very beautifull."

"Thank you very much, but still, I must digress."

"Well, I still believe you're a perfect ten," he pressed on, 'causing Tenten to laugh.

"Do you have a someone special in your life?" he asked.

Tenten laughed a little more sadly. "I wish," she confessed. "He doesn't even notice me."

Kazuo made a noise of offense. "Well then, he must not be very bright at all to not notice this lovely creature before me."

Tenten sighed. "It doesn't matter what I do though. He'll always be wrapped around Miss I Have Everything's finger."

"Is he that shallow?"

"Probably. What else could it be? I'm practically better, if not am, better than her in everything else. The only thing she has over me is money and all the designer shit she could possibly want."

"Is that all? Well, I could take care of that for you."

"What?"

"Yes, let's go shopping."

"Are you serious," she half laughed out.

"Of course," he said with a smile.

He stood up and left money on the table. He took up Tenten's hand and led her out of the restraunt and down the street into one of the clothing stores.

"Try on anything you like," he told her.

Tenten, more excited then suspicious, took off for the clothing racks grabbing garments left and right. She headed for the back of the store twoards the changing booths and Kazuo sat in front of the armchairs the store had placed in front of the dressing booths mirrors. After dressing herself in each outfit, Tenten would step out and model the outfit for the older man. Kazuo watched her with much interest, clapping and cheering her on when she would model. After awhile Kazuo had one of the store clerks come by and ring up the clothing Tenten had chosen.

Tenten had finished dressing herself in her own set of clothes and was about to come out of the booth when Kazuo peeked in.

"All clear?" he asked slyly.

Tenten jumped backwards. "Kazuo, you scared me. What are you doing?"

"I wanted to ask you sometihing," he replied, stepping into the booth himself and closing it behind him.

Tenten's heart started to beat faster. "W-what is it?"

Kazuo looked her straight in the eye. "Would you consider selling me your underwear?"

"Um... I-I don't know," she said uncertainly. "I mean, I've never... uh..."

"Come now," he pleaded. "You don't have to be shy. I'll even give you another ten thousand."

'Well,' she thought. 'It's not like I'm actually selling myself, and he did buy me all these clothes, and offering more money. I guess I'll just do it and get it over with.'

"Alright," she said. "I'll just go to the bathroom-"

"No, no, no," Kazuo told her. "Right here, just slip them off."

Tenten gasped. "I-I-I... right here?"

"Hurry," he told her. "Before someone comes looking for us."

'Just do it really quickly,' she told herself.

She pushed her hands beneath her skirt, revealing her underwear just a little bit. She pulled them down her legs and stepped out of them one leg at a time, making sure not to show herself off in anyway. She handed them over to Kazuo, who took them gently and as if it was nothing, folded them and put them inside his coat.

"Thank you very much," he said and let them both out.

The same store clerk that Kazuo had ring up the merchandise came back with some bags and his credit card.

"Here you are, sir," she said and handed him the items.

He thanked her and walked out of the store with a now silent and lightly blushing Tenten. Outside, Kazuo gave her the shopping bags and thanked her for the night. Tenten in turn, thanked him as well and waved goodbye to him, turning down a ride home and making her way back up the street back to the train station.

On the train back to the local district of Konoha, Tenten was lost in thought.

'I can't believe I did that. But I did get all this stuff, and more money then I thought I would get. It's not that bad I guess. An almost honest way to make some spare cash...'

She felt her cell phone vibrate through her jacket pocket. She flipped it open and saw that she had new mail. It was from another man off the dating site she had joined, asking her if she wanted to meet somewhere tomorrow night.

In an instant she responded back.

_Where and what time?_

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	13. Act II, Scene I

xxx  
Act II, Scene I: "My sweet love's beauty...His beauty shall in these black lines be seen..."  
xxx

"Alright class, listen up!" Iruka called attention.

The classroom went quiet and those who were up and around took their seats. All gave their attention to the teacher in front of them.

Iruka put a small smile on his face. "Project time."

Automatic moans and groans were distributed evenly throughout the room, even a random "Why dear God, why?"

"What the hell, Iruka-sensei?!" Naruto leapt up from his seat and shouted. "We had a project last semester!"

"And I told you, Naruto," Iruka retorted, "that we would have one project every semester."

"Well then, answer me this, sensei," Naruto carefully worded.

The class locked their eyes on the loud mouthed blonde, waiting with anticipation. Surely he was about to say something only the smartest of smart asses would say.

"Is it group or individual?"

More groans.

"I thought about making it another group project. But I guess it could easily be an individual."

Another automatic disruption of the classroom as the majority of the room begged for a group project.

"Alright, alright, it's a group project," Iruka conceded.

Tenten raised her hand. "Are we going to get into groups the same way we did last time."

"Of course we will," answered Iruka. "You all seem to have fun with it and I've never heard any complaints against who's in what group. Now Naruto, if you would just sit down, we could start breaking off into groups."

Naruto slid back into his seat bashfully.

"Alright then," Iruka said, picking up his attendance sheet. "You all know how this goes, I call your name, you call out the first name that comes to you, that person calls out the first name that comes to them, so on and so forth until we get groups of four. Ready? Keisuke."

Near the back of the classroom, a conspiring Sasuke sat. At the moment he was hoping to whatever higher being there was to allow Iruka to call out his name so that he wouldn't end up in another group of giggling girls. The way he figured it, if his name was called out first, he could call out Neji's name. He knew for certain that with Neji, there was no doubt that he would call out Hinata's. Inconspicuous. It was perfect.

Now he was hoping that fate would be in his favor...

"Sasuke."

"Neji!"

"Hinata!"

"Naruto!"

"Noo!!"

Naruto leapt out of his seat for the second time. "Why Hinata, why?! Why did you stick me with that bastard?!" He pointed at Sasuke in front of her.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Naruto," Hinata stammered out. "It's just... it's just you're right next to me and... um..."

"Iruka-sensei, please get me out of this!" the blonde boy pleaded.

"Naruto, if I did that, it would be considered special treatment," the teacher said ruefully. "I can't do that."

Naruto hung his head and sank to his knees in defeat."

"Damn you, Fate," he quoted. "First my sanity, now my dignity."

Iruka sighed. "Naruto, sit down."

"I am down."

"You know what I mean."

Naruto let out a low growl of aggravation. "Fine. But I'm going to be brooding and in a bad mood for the rest of the hour."

Iruka shook his head and sighed again. He turned his attention back to the attendance list. "Karin."

While Naruto sat pouting (he said he would be brooding but in all seriousness he could only pout) in his chair, Sasuke was silently fuming in his own.

Fate was one sick and twisted bitch.

xxx

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei can I talk to you?"

Kakashi looked up from reading his novel to the student in front of him. His eyes curved upward into a smile.

"Sure, Shikamaru. What do you need?"

Shikamaru shifted on his feet uncomfortably. He visibly took a gulp before speaking again.

"Can I ask you something, sensei?"

Kakashi pointed at his face. "Is it about the mask?"

"No, sensei, frankly, I don't give a damn about that anymore."

"Really? Is it not mysterious enough?"

"Well after two years of getting nothing out of you it's just not interesting," the boy said frankly.

"Does anyone find it interesting still?"

"I think Naruto still wants to- Wait! I didn't come to talk about your mask."

"Well then what did you want to ask me?"

Shikamaru looked down at his feet and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Um, what was that?" Kakashi asked him.

Shikamaru brought his head up with a very noticeable blush across his face. "I said I wanted to know how you knew that you were gay!"

The book that was still in Kakashi's hand dropped with a thunk onto his desk. He looked at his student with widen eyes.

"W-what?"

Shikamaru diverted his eyes to the window on his left. "Come on, you heard me the first time, I'm not going to repeat myself."

"Listen, Shikamaru. I don't know what you've heard-"

"Save it, sensei," Shikamaru cut him off. "I doubt anyone other than me knows. And that's only 'cause I caught on to those "dolphin" excuses of yours. So what? You and Iruka-sensei fudge pack each other. I don't give a damn, I'm just more embarrassed by the fact that I'm here asking you for advice."

Kakashi scratched his head. "Hn. I'm not sure who you insulted in that last sentence of yours. But in any case I suppose I should help you out. Alright then Shikamaru, why do you want to know?"

"Obviously because I'm questioning my sexual orientation here, sensei."

"Don't get snippy with me mister, I'm talking to you about this."

"Right, right. I'm just a little frustrated with this whole thing."

"Understandable. Tell me then, Shikamaru, when did you start questioning yourself."

"For awhile actually. But I never really thought about it before seriously. I always kinda thought that the reason I never really noticed girls was because they could be so troublesome sometimes, you know what with the emotional mood swings and all. Kinda figured that when the right girl came along I'd take notice, get married and all that other crap. But then I kinda started noticing someone and in a more than just friendly way, but you know, there was kind of a problem there..."

"Because the someone's a boy?"

"Yeah. So... I don't know what to do here."

Kakashi leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes in thought.

"Maa... Does this boy also swing that way?"

"I doubt it. All he can talk about romantically is the psychotic pink menace herself."

"Hold it, you're in love with Naruto?"

Shikamaru felt red creep up onto his face. 'For being so smart, I sure can be a dumb ass.'

"I never said I was in love with him," Shikamaru growled.

Kakashi's eyes smiled again. "Aw, that's so cute."

"Kakashi-sensei, please..."

"Alright Shikamaru, listen up. When it comes to discovering your own sexual orientation, the first thing that you need to do is become comfortable with it before coming out to anyone. During the whole getting used to it stage is usually the time when you find out for sure for sure-"

"That's a double phrase."

"Shikamaru."

"Sorry."

"Anyway, that's the time where it becomes a little more clearer. Who knows? You could be bi."

"I don't think so. Women disgust me, and not in just the physical sense."

"Really?"

"Well I guess the ones that are flighty and like that."

"Flighty? I've never heard anyone say that."

"Sensei."

"Sorry, but I really haven't heard anyone say that. Anyway, Shikamaru, this feeling you have for Naruto, I don't see him as someone who would be angry with you or spite you for being the way you are. If you feel like you need to tell him this, I'm one hundred percent sure that he would support you the entire time. Not just him either, I think all of them would."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei, that cleared up my problem telling my friends."

"You haven't spoken to anyone in your family about this, huh?"

"Of course not. I can't say anything relatively touching the subject since my mom's a bit of a homophobe. But she supports them all the way."

"Your mother's one of those that are okay with people being gay as long as no one near her is, right?"

"Dead on."

"It might take a little longer to tell her about thing."

"No kidding. Oh well, as long as my friends are cool with it, it's fine with me."

"What if your friends weren't okay with it?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'd have to be fine with it anyway, right? I came out. Unless I could have pretended it was all a joke and able to live a lie for the rest of my life."

"Shikamaru, if your friends can't accept you for the way you are and help you through your troubling times, then they were never your friends."

"Yeah... Thanks again, sensei, I'm gonna head out and join them for the rest of lunch."

"Alright then, Shikamaru. Glad to be of some help."

Shikamaru slid the door open and closed it. Kakashi watched his silhouette and smiled when it disappeared.

"I helped a student out today," he said to himself. "I'm a good person. No, scratch that. I'm a great person."

xxx

Tenten had investigated into everybody's business trying to find out who it was that was sticking love notes in her locker everyday. She was starting to get a little annoyed with how long it was taking. Now on her way home, she was trying to come up with a solution to her problem.

'Maybe I should put a nanny cam or something up. Catch the person in the act.' She thought. 'But where would I hide it?'

It seemed that for awhile she was receiving the envelopes during lunch time, but then it switched to before school even started. A pattern of some sort, but she wasn't able to figure it out.

'I should hire Shikamaru, he would be able to find out who's responsible for it.'

She put her thumb and index finger into her mouth and pulled out the piece of gum she was chewing. She fished the wrapper out of her jacket pocket (now that it was the winter season, they had to wear their school jackets) and stuck the gum inside of it. She tossed the wrapper carelessly into a nearby trash can. She continued on her merry way, not noticing the shadow following some way towards her house.

Lee casually strolled up to the trashcan, took a quick glance around him, and stuck his hand into the bin. He felt around in the cold until he found that one object that was still warm. Securing it in his hand, he pulled it back out and with a sort of pleasure, was happy to see that it was the very item he was searching for. He stuffed the chewed gum in his pocket and turned to make his way to his own home.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	14. II, ii

xxx  
Scene II: "To-morrow see again, and do not kill the spirit of love with a perpetual dulness."  
xxx

"All we're doing is wasting time," complained Neji.

"Relax," Naruto said to him. "It's not like it's due next week or anything."

"Actually, it kind of is," Neji reminded him. "We should have an idea by now."

"We would have one already," Sasuke spoke up. "If someone didn't keep objecting to all of them."

"Well if someone didn't keep thinking up the most boring ideas, then I wouldn't be shooting all of them down!" the blonde boy barked at him.

Hinata watched the three boys in her group bicker. In the two days since their assignment was given out all they had managed to do, much like the U.N., was squabble and waste time. Since the next segment they would be learning was World War II, Iruka-sensei had thought it would be neat to see what his students could teach the class before he actually taught them anything. Meaning, find something World War II related, make a presentation, and teach it. They had two weeks to do it. Not an early due date, but not a late one either. This was the last day they could actually talk about it in class. Starting tomorrow they would be finishing up the unit they had been studying.

"Why don't we just do the atom bomb droppings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Neji suggested for the second time.

"Sure we could do that," Naruto said sarcastically. "Along with fifty other groups who would be doing it."

"Who else is doing it?"

He pointed to the group behind him. "They are."

"What the hell?!" one of the boys from the other goup shouted. "Why are you listening in on us?!"

"If you wouldn't talk so damn loud I wouldn't have to listen!" Naruto yelled back at them.

"If you hate our ideas so much, why don't you come up with something?" Sasuke sounded irritated.

"I gave you an idea," Naruto told him. "You turned it down."

"We're not questioning the government's authority on entering the war."

"Why not? I bet no one else is doing it? It's not something so predictable."

"But it's predictable coming from you. You're the only one that questions authority."

"Because authority should always be questioned."

"Says who?"

"You're mother!"

"What?!"

"No comeback! I win!"

"Hinata, do you have anything?" Neji asked his cousin before World War III had time to break out in front of him.

Hinata looked down. "Um... I'm afraid that I don't know anything about the war really."

"Really?" questioned Naruto. "Nothing at all. Not even that the government-"

"No one cares about your conspiracy theories," interrupted Sasuke.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Naruto rounded on him.

"I saw you reading something in the library about the war before," Neji said.

Hinata shook her head. "That wasn't really about the war. It was more about what happened to the geisha communities during and after the war."

Naruto's ear twitched. "Geisha?"

Hinata nodded then divereted her eyes away from the blonde. "It-it was something of a phase where I wanted to be a geisha so I would read anything I could about them."

No one said anything at the makeshift table that was their four desks pushed together.

"We should totally do that."

Three pairs of eyes landed on Naruto.

"It's the most original thing I've ever heard! I doubt anyone else is going to bother with geisha during the war!" He was beaming with excitement. "I can see the presentation now. Colors of every hue clashing together in the most elegant way ever. It's a chance for me to paint! To be artsy!"

"What makes you think it's going to be artsy?" Sasuke asked him.

"Because "geisha" means "artist", duh."

"Shouldn't we already know that?" Neji asked no one in particular. "Since it's kind of our language."

"Neji, don't get into that," Hinata warned.

"Why?"

"Just don't."

"So where do we do this project of ours?" Sasuke asked them all.

"What about your place?" Naruto asked him.

"No."

"Why not?"

"No."

"Whatever," Naruto sighed, deciding that it just wasn't worth it. "We can go over to my place again, I guess."

"That wouldn't be fair to you, Naruto," Hinata said, pink going across her cheeks as she actually looked at the boy. "You've already entertained us more than once. The two of you can come to our home tomorrow. We should be able to work without any problems."

"That's right," Neji adressed his cousin. "Your father should be out until late tomorrow."

"Exactly."

"Alright!" Naruto cried out "Party at Hinata's!... Okay, not really."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

xxx

Tenten went up to Kiba, the many envelopes containing the letters she had received stacked neatly in her hand.

"Kiba," she said softly.

"Hey, Tenten, what's up?"

Gathering up all her courage, she said, "I like you too."

Kiba looked a little taken back. "What?"

"I like you too. Your letters?" She held them out. "The clue in the last one, it's been you, right?"

Kiba shifted uncomfortably. "Uh.. I'm sorry, Tenten, but I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't write you a letter or anything."

Tenten's eyes widened in horror and embarassment. "No! It has to be you! It can't be anyone else!"

"Lookit, Tenten, I'm flattered and all with the whole coming out and telling me you like me, but I don't like you like that."

Tears threatened to spring out of her eyes.

'I'm so stupid,' she thought bitterly. 'And I just made a complete fool of myself.'

"But look on the bright side," Kiba said in a hurry. "Someone seems to really like you a lot, and who know, you might just like them as much."

"Yeah," she said softly. "Yeah... maybe..."

Wanting to escape the awkwardness, Kiba sought any means of leaving.

"Um.. I'll see you later then," he said.

"Yeah... I'll see you later."

Kiba walked past her as fast as he could, wanting to look as though he wasn't trying to put distance between them.

Tenten stood rooted in her spot. She really did try her hardest to keep the water building in her eyes from spilling over, but despite her efforts she felt tears stream down her cheeks. She ran to the nearest girl's bathroom and hid herself in the last stall. She looked at the envelopes still clutched in her hand through blurry eyes. Cursing them and herself for being such an idiot, she opened the waste bin on the stall's wall and threw them in.

xxx

Kiba spotted Hinata walking out of the library. He jogged over to her.

"Hey, Hinata."

Hinata looked in the direction he heard her name called. She smiled warmly at the boy approaching her. "Hi."

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I just got some books that would help for the history project," she told him.

"Bleh, I hate that thing," he said.

"What are you doing yours on?" she asked him in turn.

"Bomb dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Kiba replied automatically.

To his surprise Hinata laughed a little.

"What's so funny about that?" he questioned.

She looked at him in all seriousness. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm not laughing at the bomb droppings. It was something that Naruto said while we were deciding what to do our project on."

Kiba got a little aggitated when he noticed a faint smile grace her facial features just by saying the boy's name.

"So what are you guys doing?" he asked her.

"The changes in the geisha communities during and after the war."

"Hn. Different."

"That's why Naruto agreed to it. Can you believe it? I'm the one that said something about geisha and out of all the other ideas he went for that one."

"Don't read too into it," Kiba warned her. "He could just like it being different than all the others."

"I know that." She said it as though she knew, but was going to see it more for what it was anyway.

Kiba scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hey, Hinata, I was thinking that after school, since I don't have any work for once, that you and me should-"

"Oh, Kiba, I'm sorry but I have to go. You can tell me later, okay?"

She brushed past him and walked off. He spun around to see what had caught her eye. The moment he was about to ask Hinata out, Naruto had just walked down the side staircase by the library and was walking down the corridor. He watched as Hinata called out his name and the boy turn and greeted her with a smile.

Kiba rolled his eyes and walked into the library.

xxx

"Whatcha got there, Hinata?" Naruto asked, his smile still in place.

"I got these books from the library," she said with her eyes lowered. "I thought that they could help us with research. I.. I thought that I should clear it with all the other members, t-to see if they would help us."

"You would know more about this than I would." He looked at his watch. "Hey, walk with me. I got to get my board and make it back to the roof before lunch ends."

"Uh... Okay."

He started walking for the main staircase and Hinata walked next to him, hugging the books she had just checked out tightly to her chest.

"So I was thinking," he said, "you know what kind of instruments geisha play?"

"Um.. yes, they play the drum, or the shamisen, or the fue."

"Can you play any of those?"

"While I was learning to play piano, I was also learning shamisen."

"You can play piano?"

"Yes."

"That's so cool, what else can you do?"

The situation was familiar to her. It reminded her of a scene from _Lost Souls_. "There's nothing special about me," she quoted. "I only do what I can."

Naruto stopped walking. She stopped as well, wondering why he stopped moving. She looked up at him and met his eyes. She quickly lowered her head back down. Naruto placed a hand under her chin and moved it back up so that he was able to look into her eyes.

"You're a DeRange'd fan," he said simply. He brought his hand back to his side and started walking again.

Hinata stayed in the same place for a while before jogging to catch up with him.

"You're one too," she said, at his side again. "During History, you quoted Bootleg when he talking to Fate. In volume 12, when she asked him to help her take revenge on Ciggy."

"Yeah, Fate's a bitch. I mean, what did Ciggy ever do to her? Just because everyone loves her. Platonically, anyway."

"But it might be because Cyrus loved her. Romantically."

"Yeah, maybe, but Cyrus is dead. So what do you think is gonna happen next? You think Angel died?"

"I hope not, Ciggy really loved her. She accepted her into the family and everything."

"Yeah, I really hope nothing bad happened to Angel. I hate it when DeRange leaves off in a cliff hanger."

"I... I heard that she was making a new series with her brother. It's supposed to be called _Immortal_."

"She should finish one series first. You know what it's about?"

"Something about angels and daemons. But I think those are metaphorical."

"She likes to do interviews in metaphors, it pisses me off. At the same time though, it makes me smile. You know like "Hahaha, she's fooling you all and you don't understand". You know what I mean?"

Hinata nodded. They walked a bit more in silence. They were almost to the locker rooms when Naruto spoke again.

"So is your favorite character Baby Talk?"

Hinata shrugged. "I... I don't know. She reminds too much of myself to be my favorite."

"There's nothing wrong with Baby Talk. If Bootleg wasn't so much of a dumbass, he'd forget all about Fate and be with her. I think she's ab-so-lute-ly copacetic."

Hinata turned her head the other way and blushed a cherry red.

'Did he just flirt with me or was he actually talking about the character?' her mind thought frantically.

They wound their way through the rows of lockers before coming to Naruto's. He put in his combination and opened the locker door with ease. He brought out his skateboard and put the lock back on.

"What do you need the skateboard for?" Hinata asked. She kept her face down, she still felt the blush there.

"I just need to prove Shikamaru wrong. Shouldn't take me long."

He moved his head to the right, noticing someone. He moved for the figure walking towards the doors leading to the Courtyard.

"I got go!" he called out to Hinata behind him. "I'll see you in homeroom."

Hinata watched him walk away. She knew he was going towards Sakura. She was the only one heading for the Courtyard.

"Baby Talk's nothing compared to Fate though," she sadly said to herself.

xxx

"Hey Sakura!"

The pink haired girl turned to where her name was being called. She saw the one person she didn't want to deal with right now coming towards her.

"What do you want, Naruto? I don't want to deal with you right now."

"I wanted to ask you something."

"No, I won't go out with you."

The blonde sighed. "Fine then, can I ask you something else?"

"You just did." She turned and walked out the doors.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch?!" he shouted, even though he knew she couldn't hear him anymore.

'What the fuck's her problem? She's probably all wound up over Sasuke... What those girls see in him I'll never get. Whatever. I should just give up for the day and go back to the roof,' he thought. 'Try again tomorrow.' He turned and made his journey back up to the rooftop.

xxx

Chouji sat next to Ino in Statistics class.

"Ino," he whispered.

"What is it?" she whispered back.

"I was wondering, what are you doing after school."

"I'm going over to Sakura's to do our history project. Why?"

"Because if you weren't doing anything, I thought that maybe we could've gone to go see a movie or something."

"With who else?"

"No one else, just us two."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Chouji, I don't know what kind of joke you're playing, but I don't want to be any part of it."

"No, Ino, I'm not playing a joke or anything."

"Hey!" Asuma shouted at the two students and threw a piece of chalk at Chouji. "You two want to tell us what you're talking about?"

"No, sensei," they said together.

Ino went back to taking notes, Chouji on the other hand was lost in thought.

'Now it's all just a joke to her. I'm never going to win. And the speed isn't doing anything. What the hell?'

He slumped his head on his desk.

xxx

Sasuke closed his notebook and looked at the group of students in front of him. "And that concludes today's meeting. Next student council will take place on Friday."

Members of the student council packed their things up and filed out of the door. Sasuke finished packing his bag and was about to return to homeroom, Sakura stopped him.

"Sasuke, can I talk to you?"

Sasuke put his bad down. "About what?"

Sakura chewed on her lip. "Listen, I know that you probably only see me as another one of your fangirls, but I want you to know, that I really do like you. I could even be in love with you."

Sakura waited for him to respond. Sasuke said nothing. He picked his bag back up and made for the exit.

"Wait!" Sakura cried out. "You're not going to say anything?"

He looked back at her.

"I don't know what you want me to say," he said to her. "Other than your delusional to think that you actually do love me."

She looked at him in disbelief. "What? How can you say I'm delusional, only I can know how I feel and I told you honestly."

"Believe what you want." He turned his head again and moved forward.

"Sasuke!"

He stopped again.

"If it'll make you stop, I'll tell you how I feel about you."

Sakura inhaled a straggled breath.

"I think your a total annoyance."

He left the room, leaving Sakura in a state of despair. She collapsed into a chair and threw her head in her hands, feeling tears stream down her arms.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	15. II, iii

xxx  
Scene III: "My tongue-tied muse in manners holds her still..."  
xxx

Sasuke looked down at the cardboard box, unwritten confusion in his eyes.

"What is all this?" he asked the annoyingly excited looking blonde boy bouncing behind the object.

"All my stuff," Naruto explained vaguely.

"For what?"

"For the project, stupid ass. See, this is what I can't figure out. They say that you're so damn smart, how the hell could you not add two and two together."

"Do you even know what two and two make?"

"Yeah, twenty-two."

Sasuke blinked.

"Are you playing dumb?"

"You didn't ask what two and two added together was, you asked what the two numbers together made. Twenty-two."

"Can we please not do this here?" Neji asked them before Sasuke was able to make a come back. "What exactly do you have in there, Naruto?"

Naruto counted the items off on his fingers. "Butcher paper, construction paper, paints, brushes, pencils, color pencils, charcol pencils, erasers, markers, oil paint stick thingies-"

"Why so much?"

"I had a vision last night." the blonde explained. "Not a remarkable vision 'cause there was no ramen in it, but it was still a vision."

"I take you want total control of the presentation part?" Neji asked him.

"Did Hector want total control of Ivory Kingdom?" Naruto questioned in turn.

Neji looked at him blankly. "What?"

"It means yes," Hinata told her cousin. She was the only one who knew what he meant by that.

"Let's just get this over with," said Sasuke, walking towards the school's gates.

Neji followed the raven towards the street, Hinata walking by his side. Naruto loaded his box onto his board with some dificulty and pushed it forward. The beginning of their walk to the Hyuuga Estate was quiet, but Naruto not liking it, started a conversation with Hinata.

"So which do you like better?" he asked her. "_Fae Chevalier _or _Lost Souls_?"

"Um... I-I don't know. I like them both. _Fae_ has a well written storyline, and it's main point is all about being carefull with what you want. Like Twila and her dreams. It was a blessing to her to know that it's all real, but at the same time, it was like a curse, because now that she's seen it, she's tainted with knowledge of its exsistence.

"And with_ Lost Souls_, it's more psychological. DeRange likes to teach what she had learned during her teen years and show them to others through examples of her characters. Like the differences between Angel and Ciggy. They're different in every way, but they are the same."

"I don't think that was the point."

"You don't?"

"No. I think it was more of an example, that people can look like total opposites, but really they were never different to begin with."

"But Angel-"

"Yeah, Angel had a brother and wasn't alone like Ciggy was, but that didn't matter. Because even with someone, Angel was still alone. Outside appearance is one way, but what's inside isn't the same."

"And if it is?"

"Is that possible?"

"Fate's shallow on the outside and inside."

"True... but that could be blamed on her upbringing."

"But isn't it also possible for people to get past their upbringing and become better people?"

Naruto scrunched his face in thought. "Damn.. I'm trapped..."

Hinata gave a small laugh. Their conversation went on like this the entire way. Talking about their favorite manga and the author who wrote them. The points she was trying to make and discussing whether or not they were to be taken literal. Other discussions were what the points themselves were. Many of their ideas were similar, but there were a few that Naruto had to disagree with Hinata on. And Hinata being Hinata, would cave into his arguments and agree with him, to which he quickly reprimanded her for giving in so easily. By the time they reached the Hyugga home, both Neji and Sasuke were equally annoyed at how Hinata was speaking with her object of affection with such ease.

Neji opened the door first and led the small group into the building. A maid greeted them at the entrance and asked if they wanted any sort of refreshments. They politely declined, except for Naruto who instantly asked if there was any instant ramen. He sobbed mockingly into this hands when the maid informed him that nothing instant was kept in the household. Hinata smiled at her friend's antics, which the maid noted instantly.

"So where can I set up?" asked Naruto.

Neji thought for a moment.

"The ballroom should be more than sufficient for you to paint in," he said finally.

"You have a ballroom?!"

"It's not really a ballroom, but it's kind of like one."

"Still. Help me with this, Neji?"

Neji lifted one end of the box and Naruto lifted the other. The small group of four padded down hallways after the maid leading the way. The maid opened both doors leading into the room and stepped aside letting the teenagers walk in. It was the only room where people could wear shoes in. A grand piano was placed directly in front of the center of the middle window, a few lounge chairs were placed in the far right corners with a small coffee table in the middle of them all.

"In the middle, in the middle," Naruto said to Neji. The two boys walked to the very center of the room and dropped the cardboard box.

"How did you lift that by yourself?" Neji asked him. "It's heavy."

"I didn't," Naruto explained. "I always had someone to help me carry it. Or the board helped me, but I wasn't going to push that all over this place."

The Hyuuga male wasn't sure how to respong. "Um... thanks?"

"So are we all going to work in here?" Sasuke asked. "Or are we going to ditch him and go somewhere else?"

"We should all work in here," Hinata said meekly. "It'll be a whole lot nicer than working in the library."

Neji looked at his cousin in astonishment. 'Did she just assert herself?' he asked himself. 'Most likely it's all for that idiot over there.'

He looked at Naruto coldly. Naruto on the other hand was oblivious to the malicious stare Neji was giving him, he was too busy pulling out all of his supplies.

"Damn it all," swore Naruto.

"What's wrong?" asked Neji.

"I forgot some stuff."

"Such as?"

"Glue, scisorss... Most importantly, glitter!"

"What do you need glitter for?"

"Everything's better with glitter," he turned and looked at the only girl in the room. "Right, Hinata?"

Hinata's face turned red. She looked down at her feet. She mumbled something that could only be an agreement.

"Are you sure your not a queer?" That was from Sasuke.

Naruto stuck two fingers up at him. "Stfu, betch."

"Yeah, that's not gay," Sasuke rebutted.

"I... I have the things you need upstairs, Naruto. Would you like me to get them for you?" Hinata asked the blonde.

Naruto's rising temper went back down after hearing Hinata's calm tone. "Huh? Uh, yeah, sure."

She put her school bag down. "I'll be right back," she told them.

"I'll go with you," Naruto said. "It's my fault you're going upstairs."

"No no, it's alright," she said to him. "I had to go upstairs anyway, to get the books that I had checked out yesterday as well as some other material."

"It's okay, I don't mind," he said with a smile. "Besides, this way I can pick out what glitter and stuff so that you don't have to bring more than you need."

Before any of the other three could try to dissuade him, Naruto had already grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her out.

The maid was still present in the room, watching them all in amusement. "He sure is an excitable one, isn't he?"

xxx

"So where is everything?" asked Naruto. He climbed the staircase next to Hinata who seemed really interested in her feet.

"It's all in my room," she said.

"Whoo! I get to see Hinata's room!" He even pumped his fists into the air, displaying his excitement.

The shy Hyuuga girl's blush grew a bit darker. They reached the landing, Hinata turned right, Naruto followed after her.

"Which one is it?" he asked excitedly.

She reached for her bedroom door's handle. "It's this one."

She opened it and stepped in. Naruto filed in after her, he stood in front of doorframe, his mouth hanging open. A little in surprise about how bright it was. He thought that with her preferances of attire outside of school, that her room would be pit of black with some remnants of purple, seeing as how that was her favorite color. Instead he found himself in a brightly lit room, wood flooring, off white walls with neatly hung wall scrolls scattered around, the furniture was antique white and old looking, the other color gracing the room was a light shade of lavendar. Her room looked like it came out of a time period, circa 1920. If he didn't know better, he would have guessed the inspiration for designing came from Baby Talk's room in her aunt's mansion.

'Her room is the same size as my house,' he thought. 'No... it's bigger."

Hinata looked back at him. "Is something wrong?"

He snapped back to reality and shook his head. "Naw, I was just thinking how your room is bigger than my house."

Hinata's brow furrowed. "My bedroom isn't that big, and your house isn't that small."

"Yeah, it is," he said. "Smallest thing I've ever been in. Anyway, that's not the point. I wasn't expecting this."

Hinata didn't know whether that was good or bad.

"I mean," Naruto continued. "With the way Tenten calls you emo and how you look after school in your own clothes, I thought maybe your entire room would be decked out in black and like, deep purple and stuff."

"Outside appearance is one way, but what's inside isn't the same."

Naruto looked at her and bursted out laughing. "That's right. I'm a dumbass."

Hinata crossed to her desk and opened the last drawer. She lifted out a small box and set it on the surface. Naruto walked over to her and looked over her shoulder, wanting to know what was inside. She opened it, inside were many small bottles of glitter. She turned around and jumped at how close she was to the blonde boy.

"Sorry," he said, stepping back a little. "Just wanted to see what was inside."

Hinata's eyes lowered to the floor again. "That's alright. Uh... well that's the glitter. Um... the glue should be over here, the scisorss too..." She trailed off, walking over to her dresser and started to rummage through one of the small drawers.

Naruto looked through all the tubes and bottles and picked out the ones he thought he could use. If he would use them at all. He doubted that he would actually use everything that he had brought, but better safe than sorry.

Neji appeared in the doorframe. He knocked on the wall inside to grab their attention.

"Hinata," he said. "I'm going to change. You can change as well if you like."

Hinata nodded and Neji left to his own room to dress out of his school uniform.

"Here are the other things," she said, handing the items over to Naruto.

"I'll take the books downstairs for ya," he said. "So you can change out of this stiff thing authority forces us to wear."

Hinata gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

She handed him the books and he left the room.

xxx

Naruto walked back into the ballroom (the doors were left open for convenience) and saw that Sasuke was sitting rigidly straight in one of the lounge chairs.

"Why does it always look like you have a stick up your ass?"

Sasuke chose to ignore him.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He threw the books onto the coffee table. He took his jacket off and threw it on one of the chairs. He loosened his tie up and pulled it over his head. That soon joined his jacket. He unbuttoned the first two buttons of his collar shirt, undid the cuff buttons, and pushed the sleeves up past his elbows.

"What are you doing?"

"Talking to me are you?" Naruto sarcastically asked.

Sasuke just looked at him blankly. Naruto turned away from him.

'I don't feel like getting into a fight right now,' he thought to himself. He looked over at the piano. 'I wonder if I can get Hinata to play something.'

He walked over to the instrument and saw the book of sheet music Kiba had boughten Hinata not so long ago. He sat on the piano bench and rifled through it, noticing the marked pages and how they were a lot of the songs that he liked.

'I wish I could play piano.' He put the book back down in it's original position and pressed down on a key.

"You shouldn't touch that unless you know how to play."

He looked up at Sasuke who was watching him, expressionless like always.

"I know how to play!" Naruto said defensively.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Like, Chopsticks... and the beginning to that one song..."

Sasuke looked away in disgust. 'I should have known better.'

He watched the blonde ghost over the keys until the key cover slammed down on Naruto's fingers.

'This is my rival?' Sasuke thought as Naruto pulled his hands away swearing and rubbing them together to make the pain go away. 'Out of everyone.. this is my rival? What was Hinata thinking when she chose him. What could she possibly see? I'll never understand.'

A few moments later, both Hyuuga cousins walked in. Neji was dresed in his usual attire of loose clothing that also seemed formal. Hinata had a black pleated skirt on with black ankle socks, a black and purple striped shirt that had a little bow at the tip of the neckline. She didn't do anything with her hair, she just let it hang down. Sasuke's face tinted a faint unoticeable pink.

Naruto hadn't noticed their presence when he uncovered the piano keys and pressed down on some absentmindedly.

"Were you about to play something?" Neji asked.

"Wha?" Naruto said dumbly. "Oh, no, I was just messing around. I can't play. Hinata, you can play though."

Hinata nodded.

"Will you play something?" he asked.

"Um..." she trailed off. "I don't know..."

"Pleeeaaaase?" He pleaded with puppy eyes.

Hinata looked up at her cousin. Neji shrugged.

"A-alright then," she conceded with a slight tilt to her head.

Naruto scooted over on the bench as Hinata walked over to it. She sat down next to him, fighting the urge to pass out from being so close to him.

"Is there anything in particular that you want me to play?" she asked him, looking down at the keys.

Naruto lifted the book back up again and flipped pages searching for the one he spotted earlier.

"This one," he said and put it back so that she was able to see. "Can I play the beginning though, I know how."

Hinata nodded again. Naruto smiled and placed his fingers on the piano keys. He pushed down on the first few without any hesitation. It wasn't that hard to play the beginning of Silver and Cold, his brother had shown him years earlier that the melody was the same, the only thing that changed was the beginning note, which was only just one tone lower. He pulled his hands away when he finished, and Hinata took over from there. She played through it beautifully, but it bothered Naruto that she wasn't singing when the vocals came in.

"Why aren't you singing?" Naruto asked her.

She stopped playing and looked at him. "I don't sing that well."

"Do you want me to sing it," he offered. "I mean, it's not like I have the greatest voice ever, but I don't mind."

She gave him a small smile and said, "If you want to."

She picked up where she left off and Naruto sang from that point as well, much to the dismay of the other two boys. They did this for three more songs by AFI. After the third one, Hinata had forgotten about being embarrased by sitting so close to Naruto. She was even laughing with him.

"Oooh, let's do this one," he said landing on the MCR section.

"You like this band?" she questioned.

"Yeah, and to hell with anyone who has a problem with it!" He threw his hands up as he shouted.

Hinata laughed. Naruto laughed too. Sasuke's eye twitched in anger. Neji's patience was wearing thin.

"This one might be a little hard to play, but I could try," Hinata said to no one particular.

"Come on, you know you can do it," encouraged Naruto. "You're great at this."

Her face flushed again, but she started playing nonetheless and when the time came for it, Naruto sung beside her.

Then, something unexpected happen. Hinata sang the next part with him.

"_I never thought it'd be this way  
Just me and you, we're here alone  
And if you stay, all I'm asking for is  
A thousand bodies piled up  
I never thought would be enough  
To show you just what I've been thinking..._"

Hinata stopped playing and covered her mouth with her hands.

"You sang!" exclaimed Naruto, giving her a huge hug.

'She actually sang in front of someone!' Neji's mind exclamimed.

"Sing something else," Naruto tired to pursuade her. She shook her head. "Come on, you have a really nice voice. Please? For me?"

"If she doesn't want to do it, don't make her," Sasuke said from his seat.

In the midst of another argument forming from the three boys over whether or not she should sing, Hinata pressed down on a key. They looked at her. She pushed down on another. Then some more, she formed a tune. She opened her mouth and sang:

"_I follow.. the night..  
Can't stand the light..  
When will I begin... to live again?_

_One day I'll fly away...  
Leave all this to yesterday  
What more could your love do for me?  
When will Love be through with me?  
Why live life from dream to dream?  
And dread the day, when dreaming ends?_

_One day I'll fly away...  
Leave all this to yesterday  
Why live life, from dream to dream?  
And dread the day when dreaming ends..._

_One day I'll fly away...  
Fly... fly... away..._"

She pulled her hands away the moment she was done and set them on her lap. She looked down at them, her face glowing red.

'I can't believe I just did that,' she thought.

"You sang again!" Naruto yelled again, hugging her... again.

Neji was in total disbelief, he never thought that Hinata would ever sing for someone. She wouldn't even sing for him on his birthday when he asked her to. Sasuke on the other hand, his frustration with the blonde boy was rising at fast pace after the second hug. Distracted by the spectacle of the whole thing, they didn't notice the maid walk in until she coughed for their attention.

"Miss Hinata," she said. The group of teens looked at her. "Your father's home. The driver just pulled up." She left the room again, no doubt to open the door for Hiashi and lead him here.

"What?!" Neji's voice was nothing but disbelief. He turned to his cousin. "What's he doing here, he's supposed to be out late."

She shook her head frantically. "I don't know. What do we do?"

"Look like we're working!"

Naruto let go of the still red girl and ran to his art supplies. While he rolled out the butcher paper and opened random tubes and bottles while scattering pencils and brushes, Neji pulled out random notebooks from his bag and opened them up. Hinata got up from her seat and went over to the other two boys, opening the books and pulling out her own notes. Sasuke contributed as well, pulling his own school supplies out, pulling a book up to him, and made it seem like he was taking notes. Naruto began to frantically draw a landscape scene, hoping that it looked like it would have had he been drawing since the moment he got here.

Minutes past, they were waiting anxiously for the arrival of Hyuuga Hiashi, Hinata being the most anxious of them all. At long last, they saw the same maid that had been helping them come through the double door frame again, Hiashi came in afterwards. The four students stood up as he walked in. Both Neji and Hinata stepped forwards as Hiashi approached them. Naruto noticed how Hinata kept her eyes down at all times.

"A school project," he stated more than asked.

"Yes, Uncle," said Neji. Hinata kept her eyes lowered.

Hiashi looked at the other two boys in the boys in the room individually. He kept his gaze on Naruto longer than he had with Sasuke. Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"Will they be joining us for dinner?" Hiashi directed towards Neji.

Neji looked back at them.

"If I am allowed, I will accept," Sasuke said.

Naruto threw his hands to the back of his head and grinned madly. "Who can pass up free food?"

Neji faced forward again again. Waiting for his uncle's response.

Hiashi nodded. "I will inform the cooks and have places set. Someone will inform you when the meal has been prepared."

With that he left. The small group of teens bowed and said their thanks to the retreating figure. Except for Naruto. He said his thanks but skipped the bow.

xxx

The maid that had been keeping an eye on Hinata and her friends was the same one that came to inform them all that dinner would be served shortly and that they were expected in the dining room. When she came to tell them, she found Naruto covered with paint up to his forearms and on his face trying to throw glitter in Hinata's hair. Apparently, Hinata was helping him cut out flower petals from construction paper when she said someting about his paint covered appearance. Naruto made a joke about looking better with color and when she laughed, demanded that she be covered in glitter, since everything is better with glitter.

She couldn't help but smile warmly at the pair as she told them about dinner. It had been a very long time since she saw the daughter of the household in such a happy state. The maid kindly advised Naruto to clean up before eating. She led him to the washroom and the other three went on to the dining room. The maid waited by the door until he came back out paint free and led him to the others.

Upon entering, Naruto saw that Hiashi sat at the head of the table, Neji to his right, Sasuke to his left, and Hinata next to Neji. The only seat left was next to Sasuke, which he bluntly refused and asked Hinata to switch with him. She did so willingly.

The meal was too quiet for Naruto's comfort. He was about to start a conversation, but then to Neji's and Hinata's surprise, Hiashi himself started a conversation going. He asked both his daughter and nephew about their school day, what kind of project they were doing, and eventually he conversed with Sasuke about himself which consisted of his academic performance at school to his plans for the future.

"I assume you will be going into your family's business," said Hiashi.

"First I plan to attend the university," replied Sasuke. "But yes, I do plan to be going into business with my father."

"And your brother?"

"Right now he is in a rebellious stage, but I believe that he too will go into business with my father."

The two of them were so engrossed in their own formal conversation, they didn't notice Naruto making faces and mouthing their words across to Hinata. Hinata tried her best not to laugh out and give him away, but the face he had made to go with Sasuke's last sentence was too much for her to hold back. A small giggle was let out, grabbing her father's attention.

Hiashi looked down the table. He saw Neji shift in his seat, Hinata looking down into her plate, and Naruto had his head turned away from all of them.

"And what about you, Naruto?" he asked the blonde. "What do you plan to do after high school?"

Naruto took his gaze away from the wall and gave his attention to Hiashi. "I try not to think about it."

Hiashi looked a little taken aback. "You haven't thought about your future at all?"

"I thought about going to school once, but then I just gave up on the whole idea."

"Why is that?"

"Well... I see it the Ray Bradbury way. We grow up in a nursery, constantly lied to until we enter college. In college, we're told "the truth", then we graduate. After that, we're just thrown back into the nursery. Constantly being lied to and doing the lying while being trapped in a facist cycle of conformity, materialism, consumption, and hypocrisy."

"What do you mean lied to? And this "truth" you speak of?"

"Okay, we live in Japan. Growing up, everything we learn in history is in our point of view. Because it's in our point of view every story is one sided, and we believe that we're right. Same thing in every country. They grow up thinking they're in the right and superior to all. In college, you're taught through other points of view. By looking through other points of view, it's easier to understand the other side of the story. Then it's easier to compare and analyze both sides of the story, realizing "the truth". But once you get out, you just start lying where the lies you heard left off, because that's what you're expected to do when teaching the younger generation. 'We walk in single file, we light our rails and punch our time'."

"'Ride escalators colder than a cell'," Hinata interjected, finishing off the quote.

Naruto smiled. "Exactly. What else?"

The table focused on her. Feeling her face heating up rapidly she quickly said it.

"'And after seeing what we saw, can we still reclaim our innocence?'"

Naruto threw his arms up in glee. "Haha! You knew which line to choose!"

"Naruto," Neji interrupted his gleeful cheer, "you were saying?"

"Eh? Oh, right. The way I see it," Naruto quickly continued were he left off, "if you can grow up learning how to decipher the truth, then there's no reason for higher learning. So really, college is about as useless as regular school."

"What about classes in business, sciences, maths?" asked Sasuke.

"Like you can't teach yourself any of that. Lookit, the only reason people go to college is just to get another shitty little piece of paper to hold over other people saying, "I'm better than you!"."

"What about subjects like philosophy and psychology?" Neji questioned him.

"All bullshit. The only reason people study psychology is to figure out what the hell is wrong with themselves. Purely selfish intentions. Even if they don't realize it at first. As for philosophy, who cares? No, honestly, who cares? Life is passing by whilst people study such irrelevance. I think people should stop questioning things that don't matter and just live."

"You question authority," Sasuke reminded him.

"That's different! That does matter, because it's for the greater good of the people!"

"If you're not going to school, then what are you going to do?" Neji asked him.

"Like I said, I don't know. I'm just going to go at it one day at a time. If I plan it all out, in the end I'll just end up going to a college, degreeing in some bullshit proffession, work for the system, and overall sell out."

"But if that's your destiny, how can you fight it?"

"Fucking, Neji, I don't know how many times I've told you that I don't believe in that fate and destiny shit. I am the gate keeper of my own destiny. My future is not set in stone."

The table went quiet.

"That is the most gay thing I've ever head," Sasuke said.

"Y'know, when you call someone or something gay, you're not insulting what you wanted. Instead you're insulting the gays by using them as an insult. I know some guys who aren't even man enough to be gay."

"Are you saying you're not man enough to be gay?"

"I am so man enough to be-" he cut himself off and thought about what he was about to say. "Well that came back and bit me in the ass."

"What a revolting thought."

"Your face is a revolting thought!"

The next thing heard was laughter. A bit surprised, Hiashi looked down the table again, and to his shock, saw that the one laughing was his daughter. It was the first time in a long time (if at all) he had heard Hinata's real laugh. The laugh that wasn't forced like the ones she had given in public, but natural, carefree. He watched Hinata try to hide her laughter behind her hands and Naruto reach across the table and bat them away.

"Don't hide it," he playfully scolded and joined in her laughter with his own.

When the two of the settled down, Hinata apologized for her laughing outburst.

xxx

A few hours later, Neji was up in his room alone. Naruto and Sasuke were long gone, much to his pleasure. Naruto's constant flirtation (in Neji's mind anyway) with Hinata angered him to the point where he wanted to snap the blonde in two. And Sasuke, the aura he was giving off by the time he left made Neji suspect that he would have yet another competitor for his cousin's heart.

'I'm should still be in the lead though,' his mind reminded himself. His mood improved some.

He sat at his desk looking over everything that he had covered in his section, making sure that he had written all necessary information. He thought it would be best to just finish now, seeing as how it wasn't very much.

'Despite my frustrations with certain members, I suppose this group isn't all bad. But really Hinata, you couldn't have called out any other name? Tenten is in our class, you could have easily said her name. No... I know exactly why you chose him. And it's for that reason I've been feeling like this for some time now.'

He pushed everything to the side and stood from his desk. He walked out of his room and made his way downstairs for a glass of water before bed.

He neared the kitchen archway, he paused though when he heard the voices of some maids that had stayed a little later than usual double checking the cleanliness of the area.

"It was so refreshing to see the young miss like that."

He recognized the voice immediatley. It belonged to the same maid that was serving him and the other members of the project group all day.

"And you think it's all that boy's doing?" another maid asked her.

"I don't think, I know. You should have seen them together. Ooh! I wish I knew what he said to her when him and the other one were leaving!"

'That's right,' Neji thought. 'He whispered something in her ear before he left.'

Both him and Hinata had seen Naruto and Sasuke to the door when the time came for their departure. Before Naruto walked out he went up to Hinata and whispered something in her ear that made her blush and smile soflty. When he left, Hinata had refused to tell him what he said to her.

"It's a good thing," the first maid went on saying. "It's about time that the young miss found someone to help her be happy again."

Neji's blood boiled hearing this. The nerve of this servant saying that such a thing. Hadn't Neji dedicated his entire being to ensuring his cousin's happiness? Wasn't he the one who stayed up holding while she cried herself to sleep? Hadn't he said time and time again, that he would do anything and everything for her? And yet, this woman not far from him was saying that Naruto was the one who was helping her move forward from her past?

No, it was not only what the maid had said that angered Neji. It was also the very idea that Naruto could make Hinata so happy after just a few hours with her. What was it that made Naruto better than him? What did he have that made him so damn special?!

No longer wanting the glass of water that had tempted him to come downstairs, Neji walked back to his bedroom. His good mood gone for good.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	16. II, iv

xxx  
Scene IV: "And in this state she gallops night by night through lover's brains and then they dream of love."  
xxx

Shikamaru knew that pulling a prank of this magnitude on Anko-sensei of all people, was more than just a bad idea. He knew that once she found out, there was no telling what she would do to the culprits before handing them over to principal Tsunade. It was dangerous, reckless, and most of all, extremely stupid.

So why did he do it?

Because all it took to change his mind was that huge, excited smile of Naruto's. He definitely needed to learn how to keep his emotions in check, otherwise one of these day they were going to get him killed. Like right now, for instance.

"Shikamaru! In here!"

Naruto grabbed the running boy's arm and threw him into a storage closet they were about to pass by. Taken by surpirse, Shikamaru couldn't even make the effort of avoiding a collision with the wall inside. He fell back onto the floor, groaning and rubbing his forehead. Naruto slammed the door behind and slid down to the floor as well, trying to catch his breath.

Once he had his breathing under control, he noticed Shikamaru was still rubbing at his forehead.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked him.

"Yeah, it's fine," Shikamaru replied.

"You sure? Here, let me check."

Because the area of the closet was cramped, Naruto ended up crawling over Shikamaru's legs and stradling his lap. He removed Shikamaru's hand and replaced it with his own.

'Sonuva- He's too damn close!' Shikamaru freaked out in his mind.

"Shikamaru! You're all red! Did you hit yourself that hard?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Should we get you to the nurse?! Oh my God! I think I just almost killed another one of my friends! Why do I cause harm to everyone around me?!"

"Naruto! Relax!" Shikamaru shouted and pushed the boy away. "Just get off of me and I'll be fine."

Naruto's brow furrowed in concern. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Shikamaru sighed. 'Well, Kakashi said I should tell them. Guess Naruto's gonna be first.'

"Naruto," he started out carefully, "do you know why I do all these idiotic things with you?"

"Because we're friends?" the blonde answered uncertainly.

"No, it's not because we're friends," he told him.

"What?! We're not friends?!"

"No! I mean- yeah we are, but that's not the reason why I do all this stupid shit with you."

"Oh... So, why then?"

"It's because..." Shikamaru inhaled a large breath then let it out dramatically. "I like you."

Naruto blinked. "I kind of already knew that."

"What?!"

"Well yeah. We've been friends for the past like, four years. If you didn't like me, then why would you be hanging around me?"

Shikamaru's head dropped. 'He's not stupid, just kind of oblivious to this kind of thing...'

"That's not what I mean," Shikamaru sighed.

"Okay... So, what do you mean?" questioned Naruto.

"I mean I like you li- Oh to hell with it."

Shikamaru grabbed the back of Naruto's head and pressed his lips to the blonde's forcefully. Narutos' eyes widened in shock. After a second, Shikamaru let him go and sat back. He kept his eyes closed, somewhat afraid of the reaction to his sudden action.

Naruto stared at him with wide eyes and red cheeks. "Ooohhh... I get it."

Shikamaru didn't say anything. He just waited for a response to this sudden revelation.

"Huh... It makes sense now," said Naruto.

Shikamaru didn't say anything still. He did raise his eyebrow in confusion though.

"I always kinda wondered why you never paid much attention to Temari," Naruto continued. "You being a fruit is the perfect explanation."

Shikamaru's eye twitched. 'Did he just call me a fruit?'

"So Shikamaru, what kind of fruit are you?" Naruto asked him excitedly.

"Wha?"

"Yeah, are you a pervy fruit like a banana, or a classic fruit like a grape? Maybe even a tomato. I always classified those as crafty fruits because a lot of people are confused about what to put them under. Y'know, that whole vegatable/fruit debate..."

Shikamaru went a bit braindead while Naruto went off into a ramble about different kinds of fruit.

'Unbelievable. I just kissed him and he goes off about fruits. Out of everyone to crush on, it had to be Naruto.'

"Naruto!"

Naruto stopped his on goings about what kind of person a kiwi was in midsentence. "Yeah? What's up?"

"It's just.. I kind of just came out to you so, I would kind of appreciate if you would give me some kind of feedback on it."

Naruto blinked. "Oh. Well what do you want me to say? It's not like I'm gonna stop being your friend just because you're gay. I mean, it's tragic and all that this stud muffin isn't batting for the other team, but I'm pretty sure that you already knew I'm straight."

"Yeah, I know you are. Just thought I should tell you..."

"Which is good, because you shouldn't hold things in. You should improve your kissing though."

"Shut up."

They were quiet for a bit.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, I guess."

"It's nothing, really. Like I said, you're one of my best friends, you liking me or boys in general isn't going to stop that."

Shikamaru smiled to himself. They sat side by side, waiting for the bell to signal class. They weren't exactly sure how safe it was to go outside yet.

"Oh my God!" shouted Naruto.

"What? What is it?"

Naruto pointed at Shikamaru. "You're a pineapple!"

xxx

Sai's job did not suck. It was good pay for minimal work and it got him out of his home and away from his parents. He got his own little nifty desk with a company provided PC in a somewhat small office that he had to share, but it was never cramped. When he wasn't delivering or sorting mail, he would goof around on the Internet or bury his nose in a newly possesed book. Sometimes it got a little boring, but now that he had a new blonde to watch and tease, his entertainment went through the roof somedays.

Currently though, his main source of entertainment was preoccupied with something else. Sai wondered what the blonde boy was searching for so intently at his own little nifty desk on his own company provided PC.

"Hey Dickless, what are you doing?"

Naruto's head snapped away from the screen at the sound of Sai's own pet name for him.

"Fucking Sai, I told you to stop calling me that!"

"What's wrong? Sensitive about your lack of penis?"

"I swear to God, Sai, one of these days I'm gonna-"

"Fuck me upside this office?"

Naruto's head hit his desk.

"Why aren't there ever any girls who hit on me like this? Why is it always guys?"

Sai's ears twitched. "Guys? Naruto, are you cheating on me?"

"Shut up, Sai."

Sai pushed himself away from his desk and using his feet, dragged himself with his chair across the small space between their desks and parking in front of Naruto.

"Wanna share?"

Naruto looked up at him. His cheeks were stained red.

"It's funny really," he said.

"All the more to share."

"I's not mine to share."

"Spill."

"I don't know."

"Come on."

"... Okay, I guess."

"Yay."

Naruto inhaled a breath before beginning his story. He started at where him and Shikamaru were running from Anko-sensei and ended with the argument they got into about the whole pineapple issue.

"Why a pineapple?" Sai asked him.

"To be honest, the first reason why I said it was because of the way he ties his hair up."

"What?"

"Yeah, his ponytail kinda reminds me of a pinapple."

Sai rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. What were you looking for online?"

"Oh, I was looking online to see it there was, like, I don't know, a weirdest coming out story contest or something." He twisted the screen a little to give Sai a look at the webpage he was on.

"If there was, I would've already entered it," Sai told him.

"Really? You've never told me how you came out. I wanna hear it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Okay. I was in my first year of high school, I was at a book stand and I met this guy and we started hanging out. We were meeting places and stuff, in secret 'cause I still hadn't told my family yet. Anyway, he told me about this website that wanted a teen model to pose and stuff."

"A porn site?!"

"If you want to be so crude, then yeah. Anyway, so I did it and I got some good money for it. So then I still hung around with the guy and we got to be really good friends. Eventually I made my own profile on the same site that I posed for. Had tons of email buddies. Life was grand.

"Then one day, I come home from school, good ol' mom and dad were waiting for me. They dragged me off into the "family room" and told me to sit down, they had something that they needed to talk to me about. So I'm sitting there and they're both standing over me, then my mom speaks up. She says in her motherly voice, 'You're father told me that he saw picutres of you posing nude on a pornographic website.' 'A _homosexual_ pornographic website,' says my dad.

"Mom speaks again, 'And he said that you have an active profile. Sai, what does this mean?'

"Then I think, what a way to come out to your family, then it hit me. So I looked her straight in the eye and said, 'Mom, I like boys, but right now I just have to know... what was dad doing on a gay porn site?'."

Naruto snorted then laughed harder than he ever had before. "_That_was awesome. That beats the shit out of Shikamaru's story."

"You think I would have won first place?"

"I haven't heard a weirder coming out story."

"What about yours?"

"Sai, I'm not gay."

"Aw... but your so cute." He reached over to pinch the blonde's cheek.

"Ow." Naruto swatted his hand away. "Anyway, I already told Shikamaru that if I ever did decide to switch teams, I'd ring him up."

"But what about me? I need love too."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Check out your profile if your so damn lonely."

"Cybersex is no fun after awile."

"Ew. I didn't need to know that."

"Wanna try it?"

"No. Can we leave this topic already. To one that's not so..."

"Gay?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know you're not a homophobe."

"That's like the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"That's not true. I've complimented your art before. Even if mine's superior."

"Cocky bastard."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

Sai hit the desk with one of his hands. "Speaking of compliments. My art director liked the photos I took for the collection piece I had to do."

"Really? What'd you do?"

"Lot of disembodiment. Angsty, real life stuff. I asked this homeless person if he would model for me. So he's in a couple of them."

"Gah, you're so dramatic."

"Not everyone can live behind rose-tinted glasses. The truth needs to be exposed."

"Truer words were never spoken. Unfortunately, it had to come from someone who takes the literal meaning of expose."

"If that's a crack at the porn-"

"What?"

"I don't know. Whatever. Think what you will. You're just jealous."

"Very much so."

"As much as I love talking about myself, what about you? How's your art been going."

Naruto took up his school bag and rifled through it. After a quick search he pulled out his sketch book.

"Not good," he said sadly.

"Don't tell me," Sai said, taking up the book and flipping through the pages, "Attack of the Faceless Fae?"

"Yeah. I don't know. It's like, I can get the body right, the wings, the background, everything extra, even the hair now isn't a problem, but when it comes to her face, I still can't do anything."

"Just stop trying to draw her."

"I can't. It's like, an impulse. I can't ignore it, I have to draw her. It's a pain because I can never finish one."

"How many do you have?"

"At least forty-two."

"And how long has this been going on?"

Naruto bit his lip in concentration. "Um... Well, if you wanna get techinical, about four years. Although, I had a three year break from her and then it started again a little after October started."

"You know, this could be considered a psychological issue," Sai half muttered.

"What do I do? I've tried every expression, every eye shape, every lip shape, ever kind of nose that I can think of, and nothing suits her."

"Maybe it's the hair. Have you tried a different color or different length."

"Yeah I have, but I don't think it's that. When it comes to the hair, nothing else feels right."

"It's kind of bland," Sai said, looking over the newly developed hair. "Well, sucks to be you. Why don't you give up drawing for awhile. Do something else to take your mind off of it."

"Like what?"

"Why don't you try photography? It's still art and you don't have to freak over when you can't fill in something. Like with this."

Sai's fingers settled on the last drawing of the Faceless Fae. It was her with her back to the viewer, her head tilted back so that her face would be looking behind at an angle. Her wings were lowered and her hair was flying everywhere though mostly flying in one direction making it look like the wind was moving it that way.

"I don't know. Seems kind of immpersonal. Just taking pictures."

"Not unless you add something that is you."

"What?"

"Don't just snap random pictures, dumbass. Think about what you're trying to convey and in the end it'll have your mark."

"Makes sense."

"Of course it does. I said it."

"Cocky bastard."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

xxx

He couldn't really explain it. There was no desire to talk to her. All Lee wanted was to hear her voice. Which is why for the fifth time that night he called Tenten's home.

Even though it always ended the same.

Tenten would be the one to pick up, answer with a "Hello?" up to six times before becoming frustrated at the "prank phone call" and hanging up angrily.

'I's strange,' he though. 'I am most sure that she shares the same feelings for me and I do her. If she did not, then she would not have cried for me during my injury. And yet... I cannot bring myself to speak with her about the subject. Soon! Yes, soon I will confront her with my proclomations of love and she will be overcome with immense happiness and only then will we join our youthful spirits in a locing relationship!'

Until that time though, he would settle with calling her home one more time. He redialed the previous number and waited patiently for the other line to pick up. To his dismay, it was the answering machine that clicked on instead of Tenten picking up.

xxx

It was after sunset already when Chouji caught a train going into the downtown district of Konoha. It was a school night, meaning that there weren't that many kids to be seen around. There were some adults who had decided to stop by a bar for an after work drink before heading home.

Chouji rushed to his predetermined destination. Despite the lack of people on the streets, he was even more paranoid at the thought of being caught. Instead of feeling at ease by the fact not many were out and about, he felt more exposed, like he was easier to spot. Easier to be caught.

Before long he found himself on the same street that had the same club that him, Kiba, and Naruto were at not so long ago. He sped walked downwards, turning the same corners and making his way to an all too familiar place.

"Hey," Kankuro called out to him as the he approached. "You're earlier than usual."

"Look, I don't know if I want to keep doing this," Chouji told him.

"Huh? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"The only reason I ever started using this was because you said that it would help me lose weight. So far, I haven't seen anything happen."

"Well damn, you can't expect it just to work like that. You gotta keep using it."

"But if I keep doing it, I know something's gonna have to happen in me. I'm already starting to want to use this more than just once a day."

Alright, let's go over this again. When you use S it cuts down on your eating because you have no appetite, right?"

"Yeah, you explianed that to me awhile ago."

"'Kay then, that's just it. You're used to eating so much and now that you aren't, your body just wants some more energy."

Chouji said nothing. He let the information that Kankuro just gave him sink into his mind a little before speaking. "Makes sense. I guess your right."

"Of course I would be right. Who do you think you're talking to?"

"I get it... Alright then, as soon as I lose some pounds, I'll quit."

"Good," the dealer said with a smile. "So how much did you bring?"

Chouji dug his hand into the pocket of his jeans. He brought out three notes and handed them over to the other boy. Kankuro looked over them quickly before pocketing the money. He reached into his coat and pulled out two small plastic packages. He held them out for Chouji to take.

Chouji reached out and took them. He looked at the other boy questioningly. "This more than what I payed for."

Kankuro shrugged. "Consider it a small gift for being such a good customer."

"Thanks," muttered Chouji.

"Don't mention it."

"I should get going." Chouji started to make his way back his usual route.

"Don't forget to take a lot of vitamin C!" Kankuro called out to him. "Gotta take care of your body!"

Chouji looked back at him once more before waving and walking away.

xxx

Neji swore that this was real. He could hear her gasping for breath, her beating pulse beneath her flesh. With every grinding action they made, the bed they layed upon would tremble and shift slightly.

He nuzzled his face into the crook of Hinata's neck and ran his hands up and down her unclad body. He moved to capture her lips in a kiss.

"Neji," Hinata breathed.

"Yeah?"

"Neji," she gasped out tangling her hands into his matted hair. Her next words were little more than a whisper. "Neji, I love you."

Neji bent down and pressed his lips against hers. Hinata took the initiative and nibbled at his lips, beging for him to deepen the kiss. Neji's lips turned upward into a smile.

He gave into his cousin's urgency. A low growl resignated from the back of his throat that stemmed from the feeling of Hinata's exploration of his mouth.

Neji placed his hand behind Hinata's kneecap. He pushed her leg into an upright position. He ran his hand up and her her inner thigh, loving the way her body would tense up when his fingers would graze her hidden curls.

Hinata broke the kiss and threw her head back into the pillows.

"Neji," she gasped. "Neji, please..."

"Hn?"

"N-Ne-ejii..."

"Tell me what you want."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She moved her lips to his ear and whispered.

"Please, Neji. I don't want you to wake up."

Surprised at what he heard, Neji pulled away from her rather harshly.

"What?"

He opened his eyes.

Neji bolted right up in his bed, the blankets covering him falling off in the process. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and pushed away hair that had clung to his face from sweat.

'What's going on with me? I've been having these dreams every night for the past two weeks. This never happened before. I've always been able to control that part of my being.

He got out of his bed and put his bathrobe on.

'I don't know what's going on with me, but it needs to be dealt with, I can't keep having sleepless nights. Who knows? This could even probably escalate to a bigger problem. I should tell her how I feel and soon at that. The last thing I want is something that I could come to regret.'

Making sure his sash was securely fastened, Neji made his way to the washroom.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	17. II, v

xxx  
Scene V: "Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast...won to his shameful lust."  
xxx

"I was kind of hoping that we'd be able to get together again and finish the project up. I mean we still have time and everything, but Naruto was telling me about a new kind of background design. I really like the way this is going. I'm pretty sure that everyone's going to be doing something like power point, and ours is more of a strictly oral presentation with a backdrop. The landscape Naruto was making was really breathtaking. It really looked real. Despite the glitter on the flower petals.

"But anyway, I was going to talk about how he wanted to create like a second half to the backdrop. The first half being the whole landscape with a geisha walking though with a parasol or something, and the other half was going to be like the inside of a tea house. But he said that he would only do it if I was a willing participant, and I really didn't know what that meant, so I'm a little nervous about it. I can't help but be excited though, because I sure that whatver he has planned is just going to be absolutley breathtaking. I've always found his art to be so captivating.

"He even let me look into his sketchbook, but it was mainly because he was complaining about a "Faceless Fae" haunting his dreams. Apparently he's been trying to draw a faerie but can't seem to get her facial features right. So I suggested to him that he try more of an old European kind of look. Shakespearean or something like that. Kind of classical looking. He said he knew what I was talking about and said that it might actually work and he'd have to try it out. Ah! He really took some of my advice! I couldn't believe it at the time, but he really looked like he meant it when he said he would try it out. He even thanked me for the idea.

"Then after that we got into this discussion of faerie folklore. It all started when he asked me how much I knew about European faerie talkes. When I told him how the faerie community has always been a great interest of mine, he looked so happy! He smiled and said that it was so great, now he had someone to talk to about these kinds of things because everyone else isn't into it.

"I don't know! I was so happy to hear that we had another thing in common. I thought maybe the coincidence of liking the same manga and music was just a fluke or something, but maybe not. Which reminds me, you know we spell "faerie" the same way?"

"I think it started raining," Neji said abruptly, hoping to whatever higher being there was that the conversation would change course.

"Huh?" Hinata paused enought to make the sound. "Oh yeah, it did. Naruto said that it looked like it would at school. Said there were too many clouds out. But anyway, during lunch we were in the library..."

Neji sighed and rolled over onto his back.

Hiashi, once again informed Neji that he would be gone for the entire weekend and wouldn't return until Monday afternoon at the earliest. All hired help was dismissed once he had left like always, leaving the two cousins alone again.

After a dinner of whatever they were able to find in the kitchen, they went up to Hinata's room to do their homework, and once they were done, just enjoy each other's company. Hinata sat cross legged, hugging her pillow to her chest (her usual position she took when on her bed) as she rambled. Neji was lying on his side, listening intently at first, but as her rambling never left Naruto's name out, he found himself losing interest in what she had to say.

At one point of time, Neji was convinced that it was only fate playing in his favor. To him, it was just too much of a coincidence that only last night he made it a point to himself that he needed to confess his admiration for the girl next to him and his uncle gone on business leaving the alone for the night.

And confess himself he would have, had Hinata not launched herself into a full-blown Naruto filled ramble. Not only did it annoy Neji to hear "Naruto this" and "Naruto that", but he also started to get a little angry towards the blonde, and incidentally, his cousin. It was aggravating to him how she could go on and on so nonchalant about Naruto as though everything he said, did, or thought, was the greatest thing on Earth. As though he was the one to pick her up and piece her back together after everytime she fell. As though he was the one that sat with her on the nights when she would cry without really knowing why.

All this he had thought before and constantly thought whenever he saw them together at school, or really just when Naruto's name was mentioned. Even the redundancy of them plaguing his mind aggravated him.

'I just want to know why,' he thought. 'I would just like to know why she sees him, the way I would like her to see me.'

Neji tuned back into what Hinata was saying. Wishing that her speech carried no trace of the blonde's name.

"... I'm sure he can play well, but he just denies it a lot. He said that it was his brother's thing not his, and the only real reason why he started playing it was in his memory. I tried to tell him that with practice he would be able to play better, but he said that even though I was right, he wouldn't feel right about it. I switched the topic after that. I could kind of tell that he was beginning to get a little uncomfortable talking about his brother..."

'That's it!' Neji's mind exclaimed. 'I've had enough! I can't stand it anymore!'

Without saying a word, Neji sat up and slid off the bed. He made his way for the door.

"Neji?"

He stopped.

"Where are you going? Are you okay?"

The concern in her voice made his body stiffen.

Hinata put her pillow aside and slid off her bed. She slowly made her way to Neji, still rooted in spot.

"I'm fine," he said. "I'm just going to go to my room already."

Hinata moved in front of him, now even more concerned for his well being.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She went to feel his forehead with her hand, but Neji captured her wrist midair.

"Neji?"

His eyes were screwed shut and his grip tightened.

"Don't touch me."

Hinata looked at him wide-eyed.

"Neji, what's wrong?!"

"Why..."

"Neji, tell me what's wrong."

His eyes opened and bore down into hers. Something hostile present in them. His grip on her wrist tightened.

"What do you care?" His voice was cold.

"W-what? Neji, what are you saying?"

"What do you care if something is wrong with me?" he demanded.

"B-because I care about you, Neji."

A small cry broke from her throat as his grip tightened all the more.

"N-Neji! That... That hurts!"

"Why do you care?" he asked harshly.

"Because... Because you're my cousin. Not only that, you've been by my side for so long that you're practically my best friend."

A cryptic smile formed on his face.

"That's all I'll ever be, isn't it?"

"W-what?"

"That's all I'll ever be to you, isn't it? You can't see me as anything more, can you?"

"Neji, what are you talking about?"

Neji pulled her wrist sharply forward, bringing her entire body crashing into his. He wrapped his free arm around her waist, keeping her in place securely.

"You can't see me as anything else, anything more. You won't see me the same way you see him."

"Who?"

"Who else?!" His anger started to seep into his voice. "Who else do you go on about as though he was the greatest fucking person on Earth?"

Her mind was in a frenzy. "Who.. Who are you talking about?"

Out of nowhere, Neji pressed his lips hard against hers. Hinata gasped in surprise, unintentionally allowing Neji to gain entrance into her mouth trying to deepen the kiss.

She struggled against him until she was finally able to break free.

"Neji! Stop it!"

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is it because I'm not him? Because I'm not Naruto?"

Before she had anytime to respond, Neji twisted her so they're positions changed. He now had his back to the door, her back to the bed. He let go of her wrist and with his left hand pulled at her shirt sleeve before throwing her backwards. Hinata hit the matress with the back of her calves and fell backwards with a scream. Neji loomed over her for a millisecond before straddling her.

"Naruto is the one you want ontop of you, isn't it?!"

He ripped at her blouse. Several of the buttons flew off into different directions, those that hit something solid could be heard thudding against it.

Tears welled up in Hinata's eyes. She was no longer capable of speech. To say the very least, she was scared. This Neji wasn't the Neji she knew. This Neji was violent and unpredictable, and it was the second that scared her the most.

Despite the fact that her main priority should have been relieving Neji's body off of her own, she used her arms in a pitiful attempt to cover her exposed skin.

Neji pinned her arms down, then taking advantage of her position, lowered his head down to her collarbone. He marked her skin using his teeth, the whole time she struggled against him, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Angry with her show of resistance, Neji let go of her arms and raised his hand and used the back of it to slap her straight across her face.

In one moment of pain, Hinata lost all hope that he would come back to his senses and stop on his own. She knew then and there, that if she did not do anythig to stop this herself, it very much looked like the outcome it was quickly escalating to.

She recovered quickly and slashed at his face with her nails. Neji jumped backwards, grabbing at his own face as instinct. Hinata took this temporary distraction to wrestle her legs from under him. With as much force as she could muster, used both feet to kick his manhood. and push him off the bed all together.

Neji landed square on his back and cried out in pain. Hinata, quick as ever, took the opportunity to run out of her bedroom and down the staircase. She ran for the front door and slammed it open. She ran straight out for the street. She tripped over the curb of the sidewalk and skidded out onto the road.

She hissed in pain and picked herself off of the asphalt. As soon as she stood, she made her decision quickly.

She wanted someone to protect her, and she ran for the only person she had her mind set on for help.

xxx

After a quick shower, Naruto changed into his orange flannel pajama pants and a black wifebeater. He switched his stereo on and inserted a random CD. He turned the volume down before hitting the play button. It was already after eight, the last thing he wanted was for someone to come pounding on his door about how his music was disturbing them somehow.

He fell back onto his matress and just layed there. Neko came in a few minutes later and joined him, making herself comfortable near the edge. He absentmindely started to pet her.

"Nothing going on tonight," he said. "Kind of boring."

He yawned.

"Kind of wish something would come up."

He heard rain start to pelt against the roof and windows. He smirked and let his mind piece something entertaining together.

"It was a dark and rainy night, the boy alone with no one but his pet cat for company. A mass murdering psycho killer's ideal setting."

He laughed.

"That is so lame and cliched, it can't possibly be funny."

He stayed in his humor filled mind until he felt his eyes droop. He was about to fall into a steady sleep when suddenly, Neko raised her head. She jumped off the bed and went out into the living room.

"Neko?"

Naruto got up and followed the cat out. He found her sitting in front of the front door, staring at it.

"Hey," he called out to her. "What's up?"

The cat turned her eyes to him quickly.

'Something's coming,' she thought. 'But of course you can't understand me, so let's just wait and see what it is.'

She turned her attention back to the door. Naruto raised an eyebrow in question.

'Maybe it's just some cat thing,' he thought.

He went to go back into his bedroom when a low thump sounded against the other side of the door.

"What the hell?" he said softly.

He moved closer to door, making the cat back up some. He pressed his ear against the wood and listened. He heard someone breathing. Heavily.

'Oh my God!' his mind yelled. 'It's the mass murdering psycho killer!'

He jumped back when a something like a fist started pounding at the door.

'What do I do? Someone tell me what I should do?'

Another set of pounds came sounding through.

"Gotta protect myself," he muttered.

He ran into the kitchen and looked through the drawers.

"Gotta find something. Gotta find something..."

He pulled out a long wooden spatula looking thing and a rolling pin. Both being made out of wood he went into a quick debate in his mind about which one would hold up more in a battle with a mass murdering psycho killer. After yet another set of pounding noises, he opted for the rolling pin.

He went back to the front door and placed his hand on the handle.

"Neko," he told the cat who had not moved from her current position. "I'm gonna open the door and if he's bigger than me, go for his face."

Faster than ever, Naruto wrenched the door open. In toppled a very wet and exhausted looking Hinata. Naruto threw the pin behind him and rushed to help her.

"Hinata! What the hell happened!?" He hoisted her up from her armpits and leaned her against his body so she was able to balance herself.

"Naruto," she said softly. She looked up into his eyes. "Nartuo, please help me."

He nodded and walked her over to the loveseat. Making sure she would be alright, he quickly went back and closed the front door and locked it. He went to the closet and pulled out a blanket for Hinata. He approached her and draped it around her shoulders. She dragged the ends closer to her body and he knelt in front of her.

"Hinata, what happened?"

She looked up into his eyes and started crying. She threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder.

"Naruto, I didn't know what to do," she told him in muffled sobs. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do..."

She broke off from there. She was crying too much to say anything more. Naruto wrapped his arms around her, placing a hand at the back of her neck to comfort her.

"Shh. It's okay," he whispered. "You're okay now, right? You'll be alright now."

He moved her away from him a little bit and wiped away the tears that were still rolling down her face. Hinata willed herself to calm down. She started to take in gasps of breath to stop her sobbing.

"What happened?" he asked again once her breathing returned to normal.

"I-I didn't know what happened. We- We were just... just sitting, just sitting there, just talking like we always did and- I didn't know what to do! I was just... I was just so scared. I-I thought.. I thought he- I don't what- he really would have... I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do. So I.. I just ran. I just ran away."

"Who, Hinata? Who were you with?"

Obviously the wrong thing to ask her. She broke down into tears again.

"It couldn't have been him," she muttered. "It couldn't- It had to be someone else..."

"Who?!"

He didn't get an answer out of her. He gave up for the time being and just settled for holding her until she stopped crying.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked her. He felt her nod. "Good. Do you want me to call somebody? Do you want me to call Neji?"

He felt her body tense up.

'Did Neji do something to her?' he asked himself.

He voiced his thoughts aloud, but Hinata didn't answer him. She just clung to him all the more. They stayed that way for a long time until once again, it sounded like someone was pounding on the front door.

"I'm gonna go see who that is, okay?"

Hinata nodded and let him go. He got up and looked down at himself real quick. The front of his shirt was wet and so were the top of his pants. He shrugged it off. He would just have to deal with opening the door like this. Naruto went to the door and opened it. Neji was on the other side.

Naruto looked at him in wonderment. Everytime he saw Neji, he always looked so dignified and proud like. Now here he was standing in front of him, soaked to the bone, looking haggard and frantic. Quite a dramatic change.

"Naruto! You haven't heard anything about Hinata, have you?!" He was panting for breath after he said it. It seemed like he was running everywhere in search for his cousin.

"Neji, what the hell happened?!"

"Please, tell me you've heard from her or something!" Neji clamped down on Naruto's shoulders and shook him to make his point across more urgently.

"Neji! Calm the fuck down!"

"I can't calm down! I don't know where she is!"

'Shit. What do I do?' Naruto asked himself. 'Do I lie about her not being here? It kinda looked like she didn't want to see him or something like that when I asked her if she wanted me to call him. But here he is and looking about as messed up as she is. Not to mention the fact that he's kind of freaking out with not knowing where she is. I don't know what to do!'

Luckily for Naruto, he didn't have to make that decision. Hinata had left her place on the loveseat and made her presence known to Neji, who was just outside the door in the pouring rain. Neji saw her standing behind Naruto and instantly tired to rush in at her. Naruto though, slammed his arm against the doorframe, blocking Neji's way and holding him back some. He didn't know what had happened between these two, or even if it was Neji's fault that Hinata came running to his home in the pouring rain after dark, but he knew that Hinata was tense at the mention of his name (which couldn't be good) and would keep him away from her unless she gave the okay.

"Let me through," Neji growled.

Naruto shook his head. "Not unless Hinata wants me to."

Anger flashed through Neji's eyes before he turned his head towards Hinata. Hinata pulled the blanket around her closer and shook her head sadly.

"Hinata, please." Neji tried to get through Naruto but couldn't budge him. "Naruto, if you don't let me through I'll force my way!"

"Not unless Hinata wants me to." His voice had more of a hard edge to it. It was obvious to him now that Hinata didn't want Neji to be near her. Knowing that, he wasn't going to let the boy in front of him through.

"This doesn't concern you, Uzumaki!" the pale eyed boy shouted. "This is between me and Hinata!"

"True as that may be, _Hyuuga_, this is my home, and Hinata came here and asked for my help. If she doesn't want you near her, then I won't let you through."

Turning away from Naruto, Neji looked towards Hinata again.

"Hinata, please come home," he pleaded.

Hinata was torn. She didn't want Neji to feel bad or guilty about what he had almost done. It just wasn't in her nature to want something like that, and she was sure that it had only stemmed from what could be considered a small mental breakdown. Still, she would be lying to herself if she said that she wasn't afraid to be alone with him. The possiblity of the previous incident reoccuring could be slim, but even with those odds, the question of "what if?" plagued her mind.

She wanted to trust him, she really did. Right now though, she just couldn't do it.

"Neji..." She didn't look him in the eye as she spoke in a low tone. "I can't go home with you."

Neji's eyes held something that crossed between sadness, regret, and shame.

"Hinata," he started out slowly, "Please. I'm really sorry. I..."

He couldn't finish. He didn't know what else he could possibly say that would convince her to come home with him. He messed up and was well aware of it. Still, he looked for her reaction nonetheless.

Hinata raised her eyes to meet his. She then darted them away and shook her head lightly.

Neji backed away from the door. He positioned himself on the bottom step and continued his gaze at her. She didn't allow her own eyes to meet his though. She kept them lowered and pointed elsewhere. Naruto dropped his arm. He was pretty sure Neji had given up trying to rush inside, he kept his guard up though, just in case.

The three of them stayed that way until Jiraiya himself came out of his own home and made his way across the small road that seperated their houses.

"Is something wrong here?" he called out to them.

Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, Pervy Sage. Neji was just leaving."

Neji's attention snapped back to Naruto. Naruto merely looked back at him indifferently. With one last glance to his cousin, Neji turned and walked away without saying a word.

Naruto slumped against the doorframe and let a sigh out.

Jiraiya stepped closer to the blonde boy and stopped when he noticed Hinata behind him. He looked at her, then looked at him. Naruto looked back at him, then leaned his head back to look at Hinata, then moved it forward to look at the retreating figure of Neji, then back to Jiraiya. He shrugged.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and dropped his head down a bit, shaking it the whole time.

He let out a sigh before saying, "What do you get yourself into?"

Naruto gave him a sloppy smile and shrugged again.

"I don't know," he said simply. "No joking this time, I really don't know."

"You know, I almost called the cops."

Naruto chuckled a little. "You're so dramatic. It was nothing big."

"Nothing big? If everyone around here wasn't so damn keen on keeping their nose in their own business, someone else would have."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Look, everything's fine now, so... I don't know. You can go back to being a pervert I guess."

"Hmph... Alright, but if I see anyone else coming near this house yelling his head off-"

"Yeah, you'll call the cops, I got it. I'll be fine."

"I'm not saying you won't be fine. I'm sure you will with that cute lil'-"

"Hey!" the blonde shoted at him. "Go be a perv somewhere else!"

Naruto slammed the door on the old man before he was able to say something else. When he turned around, he saw that Hinata had not moved.

'I don't know what happened between those two,' he thought. 'I don't even know if she'll tell me. She most likely would want to be with one of the girls and talk it out with them.'

"Hey, Hinata."

Hinata raised her head to him.

"Yes?"

"If you're not going home do you have somewhere to go?"

Hinata's eyes widened at his words. She let go of the blanket around her, letting it fall to the ground as she bowed to him.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto!" she cried. "I really wasn't thinking when coming here and really, I'm sorry! I should have known better than to come bother you! I didn't even think about what would happen afterwards!"

"No! No!" he said quickly while waving his hands around. "That's not what I meant. I just thought that maybe you'd want to stay somewhere nicer. But really, if you want to stay here it's fine with me."

She stood straight up again.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to inconvenience you or anything."

"Yeah, it's fine if you stay here. I'll actually be nice to have someone else around the place."

Hinata beamed at him. "Thank you, Naruto. I owe you so much for this."

"It's nothing, really. It's pretty convenient too. I mean, there's no parents to explain to or anything like that, so it's works out for everyone."

"Really though, Naruto, thank you very much. I won't be here for very long. My father will be home again on Monday, so I'll have to go back whether I like it or not."

"Hinata, it's fine, don't worry about it. I already said it wasn't a problem."

Still, Hinata proceeded to go into a series of "thank you"'s to which Naruto sheepishly grinned at, trying to reassure her that it was all unnecassary, it really wasn't a big deal.

It was after she finally stopped and stood straight again, that he actually took notice of the state of her clothing.

"Hinata, what happened to you?" he asked her, his voice filled to the brim with concern.

Hinata looked down and saw the damage the event with Neji had done to her clothes. Her left shoulder sleeve was torn, barely hanging on. There were only three buttons holding her blouse together. Near the bottom of the skirt there was a frayed hole and her stockings were torn from where she had fallen. The soles of said stockings were threadbare from her running without wearing shoes.

That wasn't all Naruto say though. He stepped in front of her and took her hands into his. He inspected her arms and saw that her wrists and forearms were bruised. He moved upward to her neck and saw three more on her collarbone. He moved his hand beneath her chin and moved her head from side to side, noticing a small pink swelling on one cheek.

"Hinata, did.. did Neji do this to you?"

Hinata pulled away from him. She kept her head lowered as she spoke.

"In a way, I suppose it was, but it couldn't have been him! It had to be something making him do it! I'm sure that I was the one to provoke him somehow!"

'I can't believe this,' thought Naruto. 'How could he have done something like this to her? And she's the one taking the blame for it! Hinata, what the hell happened with you two?'

"Well that settles it all the more," he said suddenly. "You're definitely not going home now. Hell, I'm resisting the urge to catch up to him and beat his ass. Actually, I think I should..."

"Naruto, don't. He's already gone."

He watched the way her head lowered on it's own. She was crying again. Silently, but crying nonetheless.

"Hinata?"

She raised her head and looked at him. Her eyes were slightly puffy.

"Hinata, could.. could you tell me what happened?"

Both fear and embarrasment stretched across her cheeks as she remembered Neji's words to her before anything had happened. And while it was happening.

"I... I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."

"No, it alright I guess." He sounded a little hurt. "I just thought, y'know, maybe you'd feel better or something if you talked about it with someone."

Hinata nodded, showing that she understood what he meant. Naruto sighed. He knew she was hiding something and it kind of hurt that she didn't trust him enough to tell him. It was probably because she didn't want him to go after Neji and beat him. He still felt the urge to do such a thing, and thought that if she did tell him what happened he would do just that. In any case though, he wasn't going to push her to tell him anything if she didn't want to.

"Let's get you some new clothes, yeah?"

He took her hand up and walked her into the bedroom. Not really focusing on the road ahead, but merely at the thought of her catching a cold if she stayed this way any longer.

'I don't know if I just got myself into something deep,' he thought, 'but she came for my help, and I'll be damned before turning a friend away.'

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX


	18. II, vi

xxx  
Scene VI: "Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest, now is the time that face should form another."  
xxx

"Hey, Hinata."

Naruto shook the sleeping girl's figure lightly. Hinata turned over onto her other side and opened her eyes.

"Hey, there," he said with a smile. "Good morning."

"Morning," she said, a small smile of her own gracing her lips.

"Hey, I got to go into work for a few hours, but I'll be back around 12:30 or so. You gonna be okay while I'm gone?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I'll be fine. No problem."

"Cool. Just making sure. You can go ahead and go back to sleep if you want."

"No, that's okay," she said while sitting up. "This is the normal time I get up anyway."

"Alright. Well, go ahead and raid the kitchen if you get hungry. There's not much there but help yourself to whatever you find. The bathroom's cramped since it's Western style, but if you want to shower or take a bath, go right ahead. Oh, that's right clothes! Well, let's see... I should have some stuff that would fit you or something. So, go ahead wear whatever you like. I'll take you clothes shopping when I get back if you want."

"Naruto, you don't have to do that," she said sheepishly. "I could just go and get some clothes from home."

"Hmm... Alright, but I'm going with you. Abusive Neji isn't someone I want you around."

"He wasn't abusive," she sighed. "He was just.. out of character."

"I don't care what he was, I didn't like it."

Hinata nodded. "Alright, I'll wait for you before I go get my stuff."

Naruto smiled before climbing down the ladder. Once he reached the floor, he looked up at Hinata who was looking down at him from over the railing.

"'Kay then, I'm off."

"Good luck!" she called out.

She sighed after hearing the front door close. She stretched out and took in the room around her for the second time. Though she had been in Naruto's house before, she was never given the opportunity to see his bedroom before this. To say the least, she was still in awe over it. His room made hers pale in comparison personality wise.

To the left of the bedroom door was the bunk bed. She had slept in the top bunk which originally belonged to Naruto while his brother was alive, hence the orange sheets and comforter. The bottom bunk was decorated in neon green with a zebra striped pillowcase. A cardboard box served as a night stand and a small shelf made of metal was above that. Next to the night stand, a neon green electric guitar with orange flames leaned against a small amp.

Across from that was a small music entertainment center made of stained glass window panes and blocks of wood surrouned an old looking stereo that had a cassette player, a CD player, and a record player. Tapes and CDs were lined inside all around and a blue milk crate filled with records sat next to it.

Next to that was a long rectangular clear tub that had clothes folded inside of it. Next to that was a smaller blue tub where she guessed all of his undergarments were kept. She blushed at the thought of that.

Underneath the window that had a black sheet held up by thumbtacks for a curtain, was a desk made out of cinder blocks and a broken down door. Some school books and notebooks sat in a neat pile on one side of it. An old lawn chair was pushed beneath it.

The entire wall where the door was had numerous posters of musicians and pieces of artwork that served as a type of wallpaper. There was no visible white to be seen. The opposite wall was marked with random slogans and mindless thoughts written by Naruto and his friends in black marker. One that stood out in particular said, "Life's a bitch but not as big of one as my mom", was written by Shikamaru. Pictures of family and friends were tacked sporadically as well.

Her favorite part of it though, was the christmas lights that circulated the entire room. She thought it was one of the most ingenious ideas she ever heard of. She moved the blanket off of her and made her way down the small ladder. She walked over to the hanging cord and plugged it into the outlet directly below. She grinned happily as they lit up the room even more.

'I wish I had something like this,' she though. 'I wonder if I would have been allowed to though...'

At that moment, Neko strolled into the bedroom and meowed in Hinata's direction. Hinata looked at the cat questioningly.

"What is it little kitty?"

Neko continued to meow at her.

'The dumb ass remembered to fill up my food bowl,' she thought, 'but he forgot to fill up my water.'

She meowed at Hinata again and was halfway out the door before looking back at Hinata. She hoped the girl understood that she wanted her to follow.

"You want me to follow you?" Hinata asked uncertainly.

Neko meowed again and walked out. Hinata quickly unplugged the Christmas lights and followed the cat out. Neko trotted into the kitchen section and sat next to her water bowl. She meowed as Hinata made her way in front of her.

"Oh, you don't have any water. You're probably just thirsty."

Hinata picked up the ceramic bowl and filled it with water from the sink. She put the bowl back and squatted to scratch the back of Neko's ear before she drank her water. Neko purred, deciding that she liked this girl. Hinata watched the cat lap at the water until a grumbling sound emitted from her stomach.

"Heh, well, he did give me permission to use his kitchen."

She stood up and gingerly went through the kitchen's cabinets. Most of what she found was instant ramen. She laughed at the irony. The boy who never liked anything to be so predictable was just that. Having his cabinets filled with ramen, very original. She looked in one of the lower cabinets and found a few boxes of cereal sitting with a rice cooker and other pots and pans that went seemingly unused.

Hinata settled for a bowl of cornflakes after making sure there was milk in the mini fridge. She sat down at the small checkered table and at her meal, Neko traded her water bowl for her food bowl and ate while the girl did. almost like it was a bonding ritual for the cat. Hinata on the other hand, let her mind wander while she ate.

'It's not much different from the last time I was here. There's some more cat things. How many toys does this cat have? I see a scrathing post, little fuzzy kitty play center, a cat teaser sticking out of the wall, catnip toys everywhere, and I think that's a new pet bed.'

She looked at the still eating cat.

'He really spoils her. Maybe Ino was right. He would probably have more money if he didn't buy her so much. Even her food and water bowl look pricey. Well he is all alone here, this cat is his family.'

After swallowing another spoonful, she watched Neko stop eating and stretch before her sauntering to her pet bed to start her series of naps for the day.

'I wish he would spoil me. Haha.. what a thought. But.. he is looking after me and that at least shows he cares about my well being. But.. it could just be his nature. He is kind hearted and would do the same for any friend. Maybe that's why I was so set on coming here.'

She frowned.

'Kiba would done the same though. And us girls look out for each other, any of them would have helped me. Why did I come here? When I ran out that door, when I ran away from Neji, Naruto was the first person to come to my mind. Was that because I've had a crush on him for so long? Or is it just because I know he's a very caring person and wouldn't turn me away. But wait, Kiba would have done the same thing! I know that because Kiba's always looked out for me. Ever since we were younger.'

She placed her spoon into her now empty bowl and proceeded to carry it to the sink to wash and put away. She continued her musings while she scrubbed.

'Was it because I wanted Naruto to be the one to protect me? Was it just because I'm in love with him?'

She froze.

'I can't possibly mean that. I mean, I know that I've liked him and admired him for so long, but to actually be in love with him that's.. a dangerous thing. I know that he has feelings for Sakura, and to be in love with him, wouldn't end well with me. I just.. I need to keep it like it's always been. I'll just keep it as a simple crush and.. when the time comes that he is with someone, it will hurt, but I will get over it.'

She turned the faucet off and starting drying the plate off with a dish rag, humming softly while doing so. She stopped when a sudden knock sounded at the door.

"Who could that be?" she asked herself quietly, setting the dish off to the side.

She brushed her hands against the shirt she was wearing, making sure there was no excess water and crossed the room to the front door. She opened it and her eyes widened. Neji was on the other side.

Whereas Hinata was shocked to see her cousin on the other side of the door, Neji was a bit surprised to see her wearing what was obviously Naruto's clothes. In all honesty though, he really shouldn't have been. It wasn't as though she had taken a change of sleep wear with her when she left the house. Still he couldn't help himself from staring at her attire.

Hinata looked down at herself. She had on an oversized plain orange shirt on with a pair of old black gym shorts. It was no surprise to her that she would inevitably change her clothes.

'Maybe he's just a little hurt about me wearing his clothes,' she though. 'After all he did more or less confess himself to me.'

There was an awkward silence that settled between the two. From her pet bed, Neko lifted her head to watch them.

Neji opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again.

"Ne..." Hinata tried to speak as well, but ended up trailing off.

A few more seconds of nothing but birds chirping passed before one of them spoke.

Neji cleared his throat. "Um... you look well."

"You sound like we haven't seen each other in ages," she chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, you're right," he grinned. "Um... I came by to see if I could get you to come home."

"Well.. Naruto invited me to stay for the weekend, and Father won't be coming back until Monday afternoon anyway..."

"That's.. that's what I though you would say."

Another stretch of silence passed between them.

"Hinata.. I cannot apologize enough for last night."

"Neji, I forgive you. As questionable as that sounds, it's true. And it's probably because I don't think I have it in me to hate you. But after last night, I think we should just stay away from each other for awhile."

Neji nodded. "I understand... I had already expected this kind of outcome so, I brought you some of your things."

He backed off of the small steps and lifted a travel bag and Hinata's school bag off of the ground. Neji handed each one over to her. Hinata took them each gingerly from his hands, trying not to let her fingers brush against his own.

She dropped them by the door, deciding to put them away in their proper place later. She looked Neji in the eye before darting her eyes in a diferent direction. She waited for him to say something else, she could see that he wanted to. Neji lowered his gaze and shifted his feet.

"This is awkward," he mumbled.

"Yeah. It is."

"Hinata," he said suddenly. "You know that.. no matter what, I'll always care for you.. and.. I'll help you through any situation no matter what you decide."

Hinata looked at him thoughtfully before responding. "I know. And thank you. For being with me through all this. But.. you have to understand Neji, that this entire time I have only seen you as a best friend and older brother. I really doubt that my view of you will ever change. And right now... it's just a little uncomfortable being around you."

"I know. And I am sorry for that."

"I'm not going to say it's okay, because what kind of led us here kind of isn't okay. But.. let's just take this time apart to sort ourselves out, and.. we'll just move from there.."

Neji nodded. "Alright then."

Neji turned and trotted down the steps. Before he left all together, he turned around to address Hinata once more.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay with a girl?"

"It's just Naruto," she said. "He's not going to do anything. If anything he'll probably help me with my self assertion, but that's something I want to work on anyway."

Hinata closed the door after watching her cousin walk away from the small home. She fell back against the wood with a small sigh. Her legs giving out just a little. She turned her head and saw the cat watching her.

"I don't know what to do," she said more to herself than to the cat. "I want it to go back to the way it was but... I don't think he'd do it again."

'Do what again?' Neko wanted to ask her. Cats are very nosy and curious creatures after all.

Hinata walked over and crouched in front of Neko's pet bed.

"I don't want to tell Naruto what happened because.. because if I do I'm, not sure what would happen between him and Neji. That and I'm kind of afraid of what he would think of me afterwards."

Neko's ears twitched. Her eyes fully opened and her ears perked in Hinata's direction. She was listening at full attention.

"He didn't though! I mean, I ran away before he could have. But still, just even hinting at something like rape..."

'What!' the cat shouted in her mind. 'That asshole! No! You have to tell Naruto! Tell him so he can go kick his ass!'

"I don't know... I wouldn't want his opinion of me to lessen or anything."

'Honey, his opinion of you wouldn't change at all! Tell him!'

"My main concern right now though is where my and Neji's relationship is. I don't think it could go back to the way it was. At least not right away. I'm sure that it was just a one time thing. I mean, if I can't trust Neji, I can't trust anyone."

She looked at Neko thoughfully. "Does that make sense?"

'Not really, but hey, I'm just a cat.'

"Well then," Hinata jumped up enthusiastically. "I think maybe I'll take a quick bath and tidy up around here. A good cleaning as my sign of thanks. Would that be okay? Maybe he likes having a home that looks sort of lived in. Or better yet, I could make him lunch. Naruto said that he'd be home around lunch time. Maybe I could walk into the local district and pick up some things for a meal."

Neko watched Hinata as she went through the items Neji had brought her, talking the entire time she did so. Once she picked out what she would need, Hinata went into the bathroom after telling the cat she would be out soon.

Neko's eyes drooped heavily. As much as she liked the girl and wanted to stay awake with her, she needed some sleep.

xxx

"You goin' home, Sai?"

Sai looked at Naruto through his peripheral vision. "Don't really have anywhere else to go. Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "Let's go out to eat somewhere."

"Are you asking me out?"

"No! Well.. in a way I guess I kind of am, but not like in a date. I have one of my friends staying over at my place and thought it'd be nice to take her out somewhere for lunch. Then I see you right here and thought why the hell not invite you too?"

"And here I thought you finally gave up clinging to the closet," he sighed.

"Don't make me take the invitation back."

"Okay, Dickless. I'll go out to lunch with you and your friend."

"Awesome," Naruto said, choosing to ignore Sai's pet name for him. "Let me borrow your phone? I should call her up and tell her."

Sai dug around in his coat pocket. He pulled out a black cell phone and handed it over to the blonde boy. Naruto quickly dialed his number and waited for Hinata to pick up.

"Why don't you just get a phone of your own?" asked Sai.

"I don't like cell phones."

"Then why are you using one?"

"Do you see a payphone around here?"

"No."

"There's your answer. When I have to use one I will, but other than that I just like to stay away from them all together."

Sai shrugged. He was fine with the answer he was given. The light at the other end of the street signaled that it was okay to cross. The two walked along with the others that had joined them at the street corner. By the time they reached the other end, Hinata had finally picked up the on the other line.

"Hinata? You okay? You sound kind of rushed... Where'd you go?... You didn't have to do that... No, no, that's fine that you wanted to use the kitchen. I'm just saying you didn't have to make lunch... I already told you that being there was fine. You don't have to pay me back or anything... Well if you want to that's cool too... No really. I'd be happy to eat whatever you make... Yeah... Oh that's right! Actually I was calling you to see if you wanted to go out to lunch with me and a friend from work... No, don't freak out, it's okay for you to be cooking!... Seriously? I wouldn't want you to feel like you have to-... Yeah it's only one, his name's Sai... You know him?... Yeah, he is kind of a prick."

Sai poked him. "I'm right here, Naruto."

"Oops. Heh, hey, I don't think he likes us talking about him behind his back..." Naruto covered the mouth piece with his hand and looked at Sai. "She's says she's sorry." He moved his hand and continued on with his conversation. "So... No, it's fine. I don't want you to feel like you were just being a bother or something like that. Besides you already started cooking-... Well that's true- No wait don't freak out! We could always go out to eat at some other time too!... We're already at the train station and we'll be home soon... Right... If it doesn't bother you, it's fine with me... Alright then, I'll see you in a bit... Bye."

He handed the phone back to Sai. "Is it okay if we go over to my place and have lunch?"

"I kind of got that from the part of the phone call I heard, that we would be," said Sai, pocketing the phone once more. "Sure I guess. Better than going home."

xxx

By the time Hinata had finished setting the table, Naruto and Sai were hastily approaching the small house.

"I'm home!" Naruto cried out while entering through the door.

"Welcome home," Hinata greeted. She walked around the table and over to the two boys who were taking off their shoes.

"Oh yeah, Hinata this is Sai," Naruto introduced. "Sai, Hinata."

Sai was slightly surprised. "The Hyuuga heiress is staying at your home?"

"Uh... yeah?"

Sai walked over to Hinata and stood in front of her. He bent over a little and inspected her face.

"Still bland," he said after awhile.

"Sai!" shouted Naruto.

"What?" Sai questioned him. "Her face is devoid of color."

"It's alright, Naruto," Hinata told him before he was able to say anything back to Sai. "He said the same thing the last time we met."

"That's right, you already met. How'd that happen?" Naruto asked them.

"At work," Sai said flatly.

"Neji and I were going around the office where you two work with Father months ago," Hinata explained. "Ah! The fish!"

Hinata hurried back to the stove before their meal had the chance to burn into blacken ash. Naruto was about to ask her if there was anything he could do to help when he noticed the clothes she was wearing.

"Hinata, where'd you get those clothes?" he asked her.

She turned the burners off and looked at him. "Oh, Neji brought me over some things."

"Neji was here?!" He panicked slightly. "Did he do anything?"

"No, no. All he did was come by and drop off some clothes and my school bag. He didn't even come into the house, it all happened at the door."

"That's good," he sighed. "I wouldn't like for anything to have happened while I wasn't here."

"Something to share?" Sai asked Naruto.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "Nothing to share. And I mean it this time."

"Damn, thought I stumbled into something good."

"Stumbling leads to a downfall, why would you want to do something like that?"

"What?"

"Yeah, never stumble, it leads to falling."

"Wait, are you talking about literally falling?"

"Hmm... Guess it applies to that too."

"How can you stand being around him?" Sai asked Hinata. "Aren't you afraid his stupidity is contagious?"

"You're face is contagious!" Naruto exclaimed while giving Sai a small push.

"Huh," Sai started thoughtfully, "No wonder everyone is so damn good looking."

"Pfft! Okay," Naruto laughed. "I give that to you."

"Lunch is ready," Hinata announced. "If you guys want to eat already."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered. "It smells real good, Hinata."

"Thank you. I hope it tastes just as good."

"I'm sure it will," he said while taking the seat in between the two.

Hinata served them all a helping of rice and they passed the food dishes amongst themselves.

"Hinata," Sai said suddenly.

"Yes?" she answered.

"How would you like to be my model?"

"What?"

"What happened to your bum?" asked Naruto.

"I kind of want to take a different approach with my next project, and I'm going to need a girl to be my model," he explained quickly. "How 'bout it? Will you do it?"

Hinata fiddled with the food on her plate before answering. "I don't know. I've never done anything like modeling before."

"It's not that difficult. Just pose for a second, I'll snap a photo, and it's over."

"Why Hinata?" Naruto asked him. "I don't mean that you wouldn't make a good model, Hinata, I just kinda wanna know why you chose her."

"It's because her face is so bland."

"Wha?" Naruto asked, clearly confused.

"The red will stand out that much more when the film is developed," Sai replied.

"Red?" Hinata asked him.

"On your lips," Sai explained to her.

"I think you should do it," Naruto told her.

"You think so?" she asked him.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well... Alright. I'll do it."

"Great," said Sai. "By any chance, do you own a pair of angel wings?"

"No, I don't. Is that bad?"

"No, not really. It would have been easier than having to go out and look for a pair."

"Should check SUburbIA," Naruto put in. "It is part costume shop."

"I don't really like going in there," Sai told him. "It's too... what's that word?"

"Commercial?" Naruto offered. Sai nodded, earning one from the blonde in return. "Yeah it is. I mean it wasn't at first, but then it just plummeted and lost all it's values."

"But you still go in there?" Sai questioned.

"Well yeah. But the way I figure, if I was to stop going then I would be like everyone else who dumped it because it went mainstream. Conforming to nonconformity is still conformity."

"Seriously," Sai addressed Hinata, "how do you put up with it?"

"Sai, shut up. It's not only that, but unfortunately they're still the only place that sells records, and Kiba works there."

"Naruto, you don't use his discount, do you?" Hinata asked him.

"If he offers, I'll take it, but it's not like I force him to. Speaking of Kiba though, he should be working right now, why don't we go hit up the place after we eat?"

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Sai thought aloud. "It'd be better to go shopping with the model." He looked at Hinata before addressing her. "Would it be okay if you showed me some of the clothes you have now? I kind of need to see if you have anything that I could use."

"Um.. Sure I guess, but what if I don't have anything that could be used?" she asked a bit worriedly.

"Well.. It's not like you'll be wearing a whole wardrobe, and since we'll already be there, I can spare some money for an outfit," the dark-haired boy replied.

"I couldn't allow you to do that," she said. "I'm sure Neji put some money in my bag."

"I'll pay for it," Naruto said.

Hinata turned to look at him. "Naruto."

"Nah, it's fine," he said. "Besides I'll be the one Kiba gives the discount to, not Sai."

Unsure of what to say, Hinata stayed quiet and blushed into her plate.

"So that's settled," Sai said. "Hinata, can I ask you something?"

Uh, sure, I guess."

"Just exactly how big is Naruto's penis?"

"Sai!!"

xxx

At its opening, SUburbIA was revered as one of the greatest and most well known shops of the underground. It held the highest reputation amongst those who labeled themselves as nonconformists. Surrounded by brightly lit and mainstream fashion stores, it stood out with it's dark and menacing demeanor. It was mainly visited by those who called themselves "punks", "goths", or "metal heads", but as time passed more and more people who had never taken a second glance were entering and driving the former customers away. The reason being that the newly developed clientele were those that the former loyal shoppers despised and mocked. Therefore, they had no intention of their lifestyle to be mistaken as a fashion statement.

Soon after the change of consumer, a new owner was brought into the picture. With a new owner, came a new look. The once dim light fixtures were replaced by fluorescent bulbs that left no shadows unlit. The decor changed from a damp decaying Gothic dungeon to a Victorian store front (which to some wasn't that bad of a change, different, but not horrible). The worst of all though, was the dramatic increase of prices on many of the former relatively inexpensive items.

Though many of the newly developed clientel walked in only to purchase something pricey and fashionable, there were still those who remembered the glory days and held out for the time when it would be restored.

Kiba was one of them, which is the only reason why he even applied for the job. He didn't dislike what the shop had come to be as much as certain others (Naruto mainly), but he wished to see it return to it's Golden Age.

True, the overly excited squeal of a group of girls who had just come across their dress size did get a bit nerve racking, and the complaints that were usually shouted so that the whole store could here from the music section did aggravate him a bit, but still, he held onto his dream of being able to play any CD he wanted without the fear of being reprimanded just because there was a swear word in one set of lyrics.

While going brain dead to one girl's complaints of the lack of mainstream music (one thing many, many people were thankful for), Kiba saw Hinata walk through the store's front doors along with Naruto and someone he hadn't seen before. Happily excusing himself from the ranting girl, he went over to greet his two friends and see what there were doing here.

"Hey there, guys," he called out the trio while approaching them.

"See?" Naruto turned to the other two. "I told you he was working. What's up Kiba, my main homeboy?"

"I'm workin', man," he answered. "Got some news for you though."

"Oh no, that doesn't sound good."

"It wouldn't sound good to you. Ya know how before when you wanted to hear what a CD sounded like before buying it, ya'd have to go to those scanner things and swipe it through."

"Then put on the headphones and you can hear parts of some tracks, yeah, I know."

"Well we just put something in that can do the same thing, and you get to hear the whole song."

"What's so bad about that?" asked Naruto.

Kiba leaned into him and whispered, "They're iPods."

"No!" Naruto cried out in horror. "Anything but that!"

"What's wrong with iPods?" Sai asked him.

"They're the reason why CDs are going extinct! Them and those damn copyright protection BS installed in CDs so they fuck up your computer when you put them in."

"Just kidding with you," Kiba laughed. "We're installing them next month. So, what are you guys doing here? Better yet, who are you?"

"Oh! Kiba, Sai. Sai, Kiba," Naruto quickly introduced.

"Hey," Kiba greeted the other boy and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Sai said and took the hand Kiba offered him. "So, what's between your legs?"

"Sai, not here," Naruto interjected before Kiba had time to react. "So Kiba, we're looking for some angel wings."

"What for?" he asked.

"For Hinata."

Kiba looked at Hinata for a confirmation. Hinata nodded at him shyly.

"What do you need angel wings for?" Kiba asked her.

"I'm.. I'm going to be a model," she replied quietly. "For one of Sai's art projects."

"A model, huh?" Kiba ran a hand alongside the back of his neck. "I think we have a black pair with the other costumes."

"Even better," Sai said.

"Well, follow me, I guess." He led to the back of the store where all the costumes and accessories were kept.

"Ah! I see them," Naruto said and jogged over to the pair. He picked them up and inspected them himself before showing them over to Sai. "Wha'd'ya think?"

Sai looked them over. "They're kind of small. Do you have anything else?" he asked Kiba.

"I could go look in the back. See if there's anything in storage," he answered.

"Could you?"

Kiba nodded quickly and left for the back of the store where extra and not yet stocked merchandise was kept. While he went to go check to see if anymore wings were kept, the others went off in search of a top piece to go with the rest of the outfit Sai had picked out before back at Naruto's home. After a few disagreements on shirts that were chosen between the two boys, Sai left the two of them to look for the item and went off to look for make-up and accessories. When he came back to them he saw that together they had chosen three different tops. Sai then asked Hinata to try on each of the so that would be easier to choose which one.

"Where'd Hinata go?" Kiba asked them, just coming back with three different pairs of wings.

"She's trying on different shirts," answered Sai, taking the wings from the other boy. "We should probably move over to the fitting rooms so that she doesn't have to walk all the way back here. Naruto, what do you think of these?" He held up a medium sized pair of black feathered wings. They were positioned to take on the effect of them about to extend to their full length.

"You're the one taking the picture," Naruto shrugged.

"I was just asking for an artistic opinion. Don't need to be a little bitch about it."

"I wasn't being a little bitch!"

Sai rolled his eyes and walked past the fuming blonde. Kiba followed directly behind him, Naruto followed last. They walked towards the dressing booths and stopped in front of the only closed curtain at the same time Hinata stepped from behind it. Sai immediately disagreed to it.

"Too hippie," he said. "Doesn't fit the image."

The next one was better. It was corseted, long fishnet sleeves with a small flare at the end of each of them. Very Renaissance looking. The third was a fabricated corset sleeveless top.

Sai walked around her looking at the top at all angles. "I don't know if I want her arms that bare."

"I like her arms," Kiba said without thought. They looked at him. Kiba turned his head in a different direction.

"Why not just go with the second one?" Naruto voiced out. "The fishnet isn't so translucent that a lot of skin is shown, but it isn't completely covered."

"But she's going to be wearing fishnets on her legs too," Sai rebutted.

"But the skirt isn't short."

"True. Alright, we'll take this one. Go ahead and change back." When she left, Sai turned to Naruto. "I think I'm going to have to paint her face white."

"What are you talking about? She's water proof. Besides, I thought the reason why you chose her was 'cause she already was."

"Yes, it is. But with her constant blushing, that might be a problem."

"It'll be fine," Naruto reassured him.

"So where's Neji?" Kiba asked Naruto. He didn't want to feel left out anymore.

Naruto shrugged. "At home I guess."

"You guess?"

"I'm not the boy's keepers. Besides, I really couldn't give a damn about him right now."

Kiba's brow furrowed. He had never heard Naruto say anything like that about anybody, unless it was Sasuke, but never to somebody he considered a friend. He was about to ask him why the cold heart towards Neji before he was interrupted by the blonde himself.

"Hey, so you gonna give me your discount?"

"What the hell?" Kiba was a bit surprised at the question. "When have you ever asked for it?"

"I haven't, but can't I be at least be entitled to ask once? C'mon, it's not like I'm an East Egger. I don't have much berries on me."

"You don't have what?" Sai questioned.

"Yeah I'll give it to you," Kiba told him. "Why're-"

"You ready, Hinata?" Naruto asked the girl coming out of the booth in her own clothes this time.

"Well, I was just changing my shirt," Hinata said.

"Alright! Let's blow this bushwa joint," he said, pumping his fist in the air.

Hinata laughed. "You're using more and more of that slang everyday, I swear."

Naruto grinned. "For real?"

"Pos-i-lute-ly."

"You're one to talk. Are you the one that's gonna ring us up, Kiba?"

"Yeah, man, just follow me."

Kiba led them back to the front of the store and to the registers. Sai laid down the accessories and make-up he had selected previously alongside the shirt they had agreed on.

"You wanna hang out tonight?" Kiba asked the blonde boy while scanning.

"Where you guys have in mind?" asked Naruto.

"I was thinking of hitting up Lucid."

"Ew. Conformist."

"It's better than fucking Cloud 49."

"_Anything _is better than Cloud 49," Naruto laughed.

"Where do you wanna go then? It's thirty even."

"Let's go to KM," Naruto said, handing over the money.

"You only like going there for one reason and one reason only," Kiba told him.

"That's not true, I also like the atmosphere around there."

"Whatever, man, you know damn well why you wanna go there every weekend."

"But Kiibaa.. What if today's the day?"

"There's no definite that she will ever show up."

"Liar!" Naruto pointed his finger in Kiba's face. "Two years ago, I wanted to go and all of you said not to bother because she wouldn't show up. What happened?"

Kiba swatted his finger away. "You're never gonna let that go are you?"

"Hell no, betch. You guys owe me."

"Fine," Kiba groaned. "We'll go. But I swear, if I end up having to sit through some beatniks shitty ass poetry again, I'm kicking your ass."

"Deal," said Naruto. "Ah hell, Hinata, I forgot about you. I didn't even ask if you wanted to go out. Do you want to come with us?"

"Um... sure, I guess," she answered while blushing a bit. "I've never been out to a club before."

"Sai? You wanna join?" the blonde asked him.

"Hang out with Naruto or go home?" Sai asked himself. "Sounds like lose/lose to me."

"I'm just kidding," he said with a smile before Naruto had the chance to blow up in his face. "I can't though, I'm going to be busy tonight."

"I'm not gonna ask what because you're the model banana," Naruto said without looking at him. He took up the bag Kiba handed out to him. "We'll see ya later than, Kiba."

"See ya guys," he said with a wave. He watched them leave the store and walk off the way they came.

'Neji is never really not around her,' thought Kiba. 'And Naruto wasn't all too happy to hear his name.' He pulled out his cell phone and headed for the backroom.

"I'm going on a break," he called out to another employee.

'I'm just gonna have to call up Neji and ask what the hell.'

xxx

Kat's Meow, or just KM for short, was Naruto's most undoubtedly favorite club. Unlike the others, where there was one brand of music for one category of people, it hosted everything and everyone. It was the only place where he saw a skinhead, a hippie, and a John Travolta type dance around in a small group to an outdated 20's jazz record. The only place where he saw a rabbi, a priest, and an atheist share a drink together. It was a place where people with different ideals and backgrounds gathered and created an actual sense of chaos.

This was the reason why he preferred it to Lucid where all the punks looked the same, and to Cloud 49 where the disco was everything in polyester. All other clubs seemed like they required a uniform in order to gain access. Here, you dressed how you wanted and no one could tell you not to be yourself. True, there were some nights when a hot headed person had one drink too many and heard something he didn't like, thus resulting in a brawl that would spread like wildfire throughout the establishment. Nevertheless, it was a wonderfully chaotic place to Naruto, he wouldn't have it any other way.

In retrospect, that in itself should have been the main reason for it topping his most favorite list, but there was another that was somewhat biased. The creator and owner of Kat's Meow was an American immigrant who moved to Konoha in her early twenties with her baby daughter. Her name was Katherine. It was her goal to create something that her younger sister wanted to see so badly. A place with no boundaries, where everyone and their brother could be in the same room and merge with those who were different.

Naruto came to this place at any chance he could in hopes that Katherine's sister herself would show up for a visit. Her sister, Fae DeRange.

It was a long shot, he knew that. At one point in time, he even considered giving up on the idea that he would meet the manga artist one day. Then that fateful day occured two years ago, when everyone convinced him to try a new place, when DeRange herself showed up to congratulate her older sister on her business, he vowed to never pass out on a chance to go ever again. The only time when he would go somewhere else, was when he was certain that the manga artist was no where near Japan and therefore could not show up unexpected again.

However, to his knowledge, there had not been any definite answers to where DeRange was at this moment. For all he could hope for, she was on her way into town right now. He was at least seventy-five percent sure that the night would end without meeting her again, but in any case, he was still optimistic about the whole thing.

"I didn't know that you were such a die hard fan," Hinata shouted over the music of the live band. Naruto had just finished telling her why he was so insistent on coming here.

"It's not that I'm a die hard fan," he shouted back. "It's just.. I don't know. I mean, you read her stuff too, don't you kinda wanna meet her?"

Hinata bobbed her head slightly in thought. "Yeah, I kind of do. To see what kind of person she is."

"Exactly that. Chouji, you're not eating anything?"

"Uh, no," Chouji spoke up to be heard over the loudness. "I'm trying to eat better, y'know?"

"Why the sudden change?" Kiba yelled across the table.

"Why did you grab a table so close to the pit?" Chouji shouted back, clearly wanting to avoid the question.

"Shut up, that's why."

"He's right though, Kiba," Shikamaru yelled. "Wasn't there any near the back?"

"No, alright?! Next time, get here before me and get your own damn table! That way you can't fucking complain to me!"

"Kiba, what the hell?" Naruto was able to speak normally for now, the band had finished their set and in their place, low beated techno came through the speakers to fill in the time between now and when the DJ would arrive. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Kiba said. "I'm getting something to drink."

Kiba slid out of the booth and made his way to the bar. Hinata looked to Naruto for some sort of explanation. Naruto merely shrugged. Shino slid out from his seat as well and followed Kiba's footsteps.

Kiba walked up to the neon lit bar and called for Kat, she was playing bartender at the moment.

"What do you have that's hard and cheap?" he asked her.

"Sorry, fella," she said with a smile. "This here ain't no gin mill. Got nothin' cheap."

"The usual then," he rolled his eyes at the deliberate use of slang and sat down on a stool while waiting for his drink to come.

'I don't know what the hell is going on with those two,' he raved in his mind, 'but whatever the hell it is, I'm beginning to not like it. It was weird enough seeing Hinata without chaperon Neji earlier, but for her to actually go out at night to a club with Naruto, it's like they're out on a date or something. This and he paid for everything at the shop. What's up with that? If it was that Sai guy's project, shouldn't he have paid? I didn't get anything out of Neji when I called him either. All he was willing to say was just that Hinata was hanging out with Naruto today.'

Kiba ran a hand through his hair. Kat came back and placed a glass in front of him. He thanked her quickly and took a big gulp out of it.

"Don't drink too much," Shino said from behind him.

Kiba jumped visibly. "Damn, Shino don't do that."

"I know what's upsetting you," Shino told him while taking the stool next to Kiba. "You can't let it get to you. At least, not right now."

"And why can't I?" Kiba asked him, taking up his drink and sliding off.

"I just sit down and you get up. Anyway though, you can't let it get to you because if you do, Hinata would only worry."

"Good, then she'll think about me once in awhile."

"Listen to yourself. You sound absolutely selfish," he reprimanded. "Can't you let her enjoy the night? Regardless of whether or not it's with Naruto?"

Kiba said nothing. He just gazed into the gold colored liquid in his glass.

"Personally," Shino went on, "I don't think it's anything close to a date. It just might be what Neji told you. She's just hanging out with him today."

"They were holding hands earlier," Kiba reminded him.

"He grabbed her hand in order to guide her through the mass crowd we had to go through to get here."

"And he didn't let go until you guys came in?"

"The point is, that he didn't do it with any romantic intention."

Kiba said nothing again. He let the repetitive beat enter his mind and take over, distracting him from all serious thought. "Fine," he sighed. "I won't let it bother me for now."

Shino began his walk back to their table. "Don't drink too much."

"Alright, mom," Kiba whined, following his friend. "I'm only gonna have one, relax."

When they reached their table again, the other three boys were discussing the mysterious reproduction process of the smurfs. The topic was generously provided by the club remix of the Smurf's theme song that had been playing for the last minute or so.

"There had to be another girl smurf hidden somewhere," Chouji concluded.

"No, there wasn't," Shikamaru told him. "It was Smurfette and only Smurfette."

"There was that one little girl smurf."

"She was like ten, how do you expect a ten year old to reproduce?"

"They're smurfs!"

"Where did those kids come from anyway?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

"Smurfette!" It's like no matter how hard he tried, Shikamaru could not get them to believe that Smurfette was the only means of reproduction.

"But they didn't call her mom," Chouji pointed out. "They called her by her name."

"And Smurfette isn't even like a real smurf," Naruto remarked. "She was created by that guy to reek havoc amongst the smurf village place."

"I never got why he wanted to destroy them," Chouji said out of the blue.

"Maybe he was a capatilist," Naruto shrugged.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Duh, because the creation of the Smurfs were based on communistic ideals," Naruto answered. "Why do you think Papa Smurf's hat was red?"

"Whatever," Shikamaru sighed. "It's too troublesome talking to you. I don't even know why I do it."

"It's because you think I'm smexy, isn't it?" Naruto asked him.

Chouji snorted and hid his laughter behind his hand. Shikamaru flushed pink and muttered something that sounded close to "idiot" under his breath. Hinata flushed a bit as well and Kiba grinned at his friend's embarrassment. Shino remained as placid as ever.

"What?" Naruto asked the table. "Isn't that the reason why?"

"Naruto, shut up," Shikamarus said sullenly. "Just shut up."

"Whatever," he said while rolling his eyes.

Idle chatter began at the table. The six of them spoke nothing terribly important, just mindless chatter and enjoying each other's company. Every now and then they would break out into a laugh (except Shino) due to some joke one of them had made.

"We should drag everyone else here one day," Naruto said.

"No one else really goes out," Kiba said.

"I saw Tenten around here," Shikamaru yawned.

"She's around here?" Kiba asked him.

"Yeah. She was with her dad or someone though."

"Aw, that must suck," said Chouji.

"Well! I'm tired of sitting!" Naruto shouted out and jumped up from his seat. "I'm going out into the pit, anyone else coming with me."

"I guess, I'll come along," Kiba said, standing up.

"Shikamaru," Naruto pointed at the boy. "You're coming with us."

"Do I have to?" he asked tediously.

"Pleeeeaaaase?" Naruto begged, even going as far as tugging on the other boy's arm.

"Give me one good reason why I should," he told the blonde.

"I thought you loved me."

"I said I liked you, not loved you!" He exclaimed, flushing for the second time that night. "And if you're going to take advantage of that, then maybe I'll just get over you."

"But Shikamaru," Naruto half cried out, "you're talking about me! How can you get over all of this?" For emphasis, Naruto waved his hands frantically in front of his body.

"I think I just did," Shikamaru said thoughtfully.

"You suck," laughed Naruto. "Whatever, dewdropper, sit on your ass and watch us have fun."

"Shut up," he said solemly and standing up himself. "I'm going."

"Chouji, you in?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Yeah, sure," Chouji told them all. "I'm gonna hit the bathroom first though."

Chouji got up from his seat and made his way to the back where the bathrooms were. Shino slid out from the booth and let Kiba and Shikamaru out. Naruto stood up and stretched. He looked at Hinata who was yawning in her seat.

"You okay, Hinata?" he asked her.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," she struggled out through her yawn. "It's just, I'm not an owl."

"Well come out and dance with us." He held out his hand for her to take. "It'll wake you up, I promise."

"What?!" she exclaimed. "No! No! I can't dance!"

"Come on." Naruto grabbed her hand and Hinata gave into his pull. "Let's go!"

With a slight grunt of displeasure. Kiba jumped the railing lining the outside of the pit, landing on his feet he headed into the mass crowd in an attempt to escape from watching Naruto and Hinata together on the floor. Despite how much he wanted to dance with the girl, he was pretty sure that if it was him that had told her to come out onto the dance floor with them, she would have said that she was too embarrassed, and he would have left it that. He knew, he had tried before. Naruto got further than he did. He actually got her to get up from her seat.

'Damn, Kiba,' Shikamaru sighed mentally. 'You make it too obvious.'

He followed behind Naruto and a blushing Hinata down the stairs leading into the dance floor which was aptly nicknamed "the pit" for being lower than ground level like the rest of the floor.

Like all other clubs, the air around the direct middle of the dance floor was always warm and humid due to the continual movement of human bodies, even though the air conditioner tried to do it's best to keep the moist air cool. It was even worse when people would bump and grind against each other whenever a rap or hip hop track would play.

"Naruto!" Hinata cried out to him. "I can't dance!"

"Sure you can," he half shouted back at her. "Anyone can. Really it's only futzing around."

"I-I can't! I'm, I'm just no good at it!"

"C'mere!"

Naruto grabbed her hand and spun her around so that she was now facing away from him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. She immediately grabbed at his hands.

"Naruto?!" Her entire face turned beet red.

"You see that girl up there?" he muttered close to her ear (which made her blush all the more).

She hesitantly followed his line of vision upwards to were a teenaged girl danced on one of the balconies overhead. Her body moved to the beat of the song while shouts of "Get Hot! Get Hot!" were chanted in her direction.

"I want you to do that," he said. "Not exactly, but you get the general idea."

"I can't do it!" she insisted and shook her head furiously to make her point even clearer.

"You can," he told her, securing his arms around her a little more. "Follow me and while you do that, listen to the music and let it go through you."

Hinata nodded numbly. She closed her eyes, feeling a little less embarrassed by doing so. She tried to move her body in the direction he was moving his own. Her movements were stiff due to her constant thinking on what her next move would be. After some debating in her mind, she gave up all conscious thought, deciding she would be better off with a blank mind.

Her feet now followed Naruto's wherever they led without a second hesitation. Her movements now became more fluid, following in sync with the music. She barely registered her hands losing grip on Naruto's arms around her while her arms began moving with a will of their own. Hinata didn't even recognize that Naruto had let go of her soon afterwards, leaving her to move on her own accord.

The music was overtaking her mind to the point where she couldn't think even if she wanted to. The beat pounded through her entire being, disillusioning all senses. She couldn't even hear the chant once being shouted at the girl above was now being directed at her. Without even realizing it, she was in the center of a small circle with spectators watching her every move.

Naruto nudged Shikamaru in his ribs, grinning like mad. He was more than proud of the help he had given Hinata. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and shook his head, but smiled back nonetheless. In all honesty, he was a bit proud of the blonde for being able to have Hinata break out of her shell in such a way. Whether or not she was completely out didn't matter. The fact remained, the girl was dancing in the middle of a group of strangers. That in itself was a mighty accomplishment.

Kiba on the other had found no pleasure as he watched the event take place from the sidelines. Truth be told, he was a little more angry with himself than with the blonde that stole Hinata away from him.

'Not that she ever belonged to me,' he thought. 'But still...' He sighed externally before going back to their table. He was going to tell Shino that he was leaving for the night. He had put up with it long enough.

When the song ended and transitioned into another one, Hinata's eyes snapped open and stopped abruptly. Whatever spell she was under ended with that last beat. The crowd cheered and her hands automatically shot up to cover her cheeks. The blush that had settled not so long ago came back with full force. Naruto ran forward and lifted the paralyzed girl off the ground, spinning her in his arms once around in a sort of congratulatory manner.

"I.. I can't believe I just did that," she confessed as they merged away from the center to the more secluded spot in a nearby corner of the pit.

"But Hinata that was so awesome!" Naruto shouted. "Shikamaru, tell her!"

"He's right," Shikamaru said. "You've got some moves."

"You did not just say that," Naruto sweatdropped.

"What's wrong with what I said?" He asked but Naruto didn't answer, he just shook his head in slight disappointment.

"Where'd Kiba go?" Naruto asked once his initial shame for his friend passed. "For that matter, where the hell is Chouji?"

"I dunno," Shikamaru told him. "Chouji said he was just going to the bathroom, but as for Kiba, no clue."

"I'm gonna go look for them," said Naruto. "It's a slow song, Shikamaru, why don't you go ahead and dance with Hinata?"

"What? But I-"

"Come on, it's not like it'll be weird or anything. I'll be right back!" He waved behind him half-heartily while he dodged in between the tightly packed bodies.

Shikamaru turned to the girl next to him. "Should we?"

Hinata shrugged. It didn't really matter to her. After what she had just done, a slow dance was like child's play. Shikamaru took up her hand and placed it on his shoulder. She moved her other hand on her own while he placed his hands on her hips. The both sidestepped back and forth slowly in step.

"Well at least this isn't weird," he slightly muttered in a half mocking tone. "Though I kind of get his reason behind it."

"What would that be?" she asked.

"I'm guessing he didn't want you to leave the pit after just getting down here," he explained. "But this is a slow song and wasn't sure if you would be too insecure to dance with someone at such a close range. So I guess to him, having me dance with you was the most logical answer."

"Oh.. That was thoughtful."

"Yeah, thinking is something he shouldn't do too often. It's troublesome."

"Shikamaru, I'm sorry if I'm prying," she said. "But I just wanted to ask you, if you find him so troublesome, why do you even like him?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Guess it's the same reason you do."

"Huh?" Her widened eyes locked onto his in surprise. "What d'you mean?"

"You don't have to play dumb. I know. Everyone knows."

Hinata stopped in shock for the second time that night. 'Everyone! I thought it was just the girls and Neji, but everyone!' her mind shouted. 'Everyone includes Naruto! How long has he known? And why hasn't he said anything about it? No, it's like I thought, he doesn't like me like that.'

"Relax," he told her. "He doesn't know."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said. Yeah, all of us know about it, you were pretty obvious about it, but he doesn't."

"If I was so obvious I don't understand how that's possible. Him not knowing."

"Look, Naruto's not stupid. It's just, when it comes to this relationship and romantic business, he can be a little on the slow side. The boy doesn't even realize when girls are flirting with him. You have to be extremely blunt about it if you want him to get what you're saying."

Hinata said nothing but began to move again. It wouldn't do for the two of them to just be standing on the side of a section that was meant for dancing.

"I got to know though," Shikamaru started up again. "What is going on with you two? I know he didn't bring you as a date."

"Nothing, really," she told him. "We're just hanging out today."

"Fine, don't tell me. I didn't really expect to hear the truth."

Hinata opened her mouth to reply but shut it quickly. She remembered that she was talking to Shikamaru. If she let out more then she should, he would most likely figure the whole situation out.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked him as they both parted from each other, the song had just ended. "How was I that obvious?"

"Well, you would stutter only when he was around, you would only blush when he was around, you'd pass out everytime he got near you, you wouldn't even look at him, yeah it was obvious. But hey, you've gotten better."

She hung her head in embarassment. "Thanks, I guess..."

"Don't worry about it. Look, he's back."

Naruto maneuvered his way around grinding bodies to get to the pair that spotted him.

"So what's up?" Shikamaru questioned the blonde once he was in hearing distance.

"Shino said that Kiba left already," he told them. "Didn't tell me why though. As for Chouji, he's still in the bathroom. I wasn't going to go to far with that investigation."

He turned to Hinata. "We've got like a an hour an' a half before the trains stop running. You want to ankle already or stick around a bit?"

She didn't answer him right away.

"Let's stay for a little longer."

xxx

Hinata's laughter echoed lightly throughout the empty streets.

"Then what happened?" she asked him.

"Well I'm on the rooftop," Naruto said, "and from the ground floor, it really does look like all the buildings are next to each other. So I jumped off the parking structure, landed on the sushi place, ran until I got to the end of the nail salon. and I couldn't go any further than that. They look like they all connect, but the difference in height is pretty noticeable when when you're in front of a wall that's twice the size of you. And I couldn't get back the way I came, because there was nothing for me to climb to get back on top of the parking place. So I had to either call someone, or wait for someone to notice me up there."

"What did you do?"

"Well because of my lack of cell phone, I was stuck on that roof for eight hours. I was amazed no one heard me yelling my head off up there."

Hinata laughed again. Though Naruto's story had been amusing enough, she wasn't laughing because of the tale that she was just told. Being around Naruto like this, she found herself smiling more than she had ever with anyone else. Of course in her mind, she just labeled it as a reaction from him taking care of her like this. It was proof that he cared about her well-being, and that was enough.

They crossed the bridge that led straight into the small mobile home community. Before they entered it though, Naruto stopped her.

"It'll be better if we follow the stream down," he said. "That way we don't have to worry about being too loud. It goes right by my place and the fence lifts up, so getting past that isn't a problem."

She nodded slightly. "Alright, I guess."

Naruto threw one leg after another over the railing of the bridge. He landed with no problem. Hinata went over the railing as well, but hesitated before jumping.

"Here, I'll catch you," he called up to her.

"I'm just a little afraid of my skirt going up," she told him.

"Sit down on the edge before jumping."

With a slight nod, she bent her knees downward and sat down on the edge. She scooted off and true to his word, Naruto caught her before she hit the ground.

"See?" he said while letting her go. "Nothing went wrong."

They followed stream's flow downwards. Ironically, the reason why Naruto thought it was best to come this way wasn't a problem. They weren't speaking at all while they were walking.

"Does this stream go all the way down to the lake?" Hinata asked him, breaking the ice.

"Hn? Uh, yeah, we usually follow it to get there," he answered her.

"I've never been there before."

"Nuh uh. Everyone should go there at least once. I like it there best."

"How come?"

"Because, 'In the woods is perpetual youth.'."

"Who said that?"

"Emerson did. And he is right. Woodlands are filled with childhood fantasies. Faeries, nymphs, trolls, gnomes, unicorns, they all live in the woods. The woods will always be young and fill the elderly with ghosts from their childhood."

He stopped walking. "I think that was the corniest thing I've ever said."

"Are you serious?" Hinata laughed.

"To the extent of my knowledge, it probably is."

He started walking again. Hinata followed close by. She raised her head up and looked at all the stars that could be seen now that they were away from so many lights.

"So pretty," she whispered.

Naruto turned her way and saw that she was looking up at the sky. He turned his own head upwards.

"They'd be even prettier," he said, "if we didn't know what they were made out of."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, the more you learn about something, the less mystery it holds over us. When I was younger, I used to wish on stars, but then I learned that they were just huge balls of gas and then I stopped, because, how is that gonna make my wish come true?"

He looked at her again. "Do you wish on stars?"

She lowered her head, her gaze fell on the floor. "I used to."

"Why did you stop?"

"Because.. Because some wishes don't come true, so why bother?"

They came to the end of the mobile park, Naruto's house was right on the other side of the chain link fence. They stopped, but they made no move towards the small home.

"If you could have any wish come true," he said to her, "what would it be?"

She didn't answer right away. "I think no matter what I say, it'll just sound selfish."

"Every wish has some selfish intention behind it," he said. "Human beings are selfish creature, not all of us, but a great majority of us are."

"Would it be selfish to bring someone back?" she asked him.

"Back from where?"

"From death."

"Hmm... This needs some thinking." He sat down on the grass, she sat down next to him after a moment.

"It depends," he continued. "Because, death, is.. like just another word for freedom. Now if someone died and they didn't want to be brought back because they were like, I don't know, in a lot of pain here on Earth, then it would be selfish, because they were better off wherever they were. If it was someone who didn't want to die, or they were just too young, then it might only have small selfish intent behind it."

"Who do you want to bring back?" he asked her.

Hinata was caught off guard. She didn't really think he would ask, but she answered him nonetheless.

"My sister," she said quietly. "I... I would like to bring her back." She said nothing afterwards. She blinked a few times and mulled her words over in her head before she chuckled softly. "I told you it sounded it selfish."

Naruto said nothing and neither did she. They stayed that way, watching the water run its course in front of them. Finally, Naruto asked her the question he had been wanting to ask her since visiting her home.

"You're not happy at home, are you?"

She looked at him with questioning eyes.

"I could tell," he went on. "You and your dad have a stiff relationship. It could even border on like fear or something. At least, that's what I got from the way both you and Neji reacted when you found out he was home."

Hinata moved her gaze away from his and spoke softly. "He, my father that is, he favored Hanabi, my younger sister, over me. She was a prodigy, a golden child with a bright future ahead of her. And I... I was just the other daughter."

"What?" He was shocked at such a revelation. "That's.. not right. How could any parent be able to hold one of their own children higher than the other?"

Hinata shrugged. "There was even a time when he didn't even believe I was his daughter. A lot of people said that my mother was promiscuous, so to him, me having a different father, was a perfectly logical explanation why I was nothing like my sister."

Naruto was appalled at what he just heard. "But that could also work the other way around."

"I know!" Even though she laughed while exclaiming, it wasn't what Naruto was used to hearing lately. This laugh had pain etched into it. "Hanabi and I, we used to talk about that whenever she would come sleep in my room when they fought at night. It didn't really matter to us. As long as we were connected somehow, it was fine."

"You were really close to her," he stated.

Hinata nodded slowly. "She was the only one who showed me any kind of affection, or just acknowledgement."

She inhaled a breath to fight back the tears that threatened to form in her eyes.

"What happened?" Naruto asked her.

"When my mother left us, she just upped and vanished, the two of us thought that maybe with her gone, we could form some sort of new relationship with our father. But then.. then, she just got sick one day.. and she never got better."

She paused to wipe away some tears that had begun to streak down her face. "I had this, incredibly stupid idea that, maybe if I took care of her well enough, she would get better. Even though now I know that there was nothing I could have done to stop it, I still feel partially responsible.

"I feel even worse, when I remember that stupid fight we got into. She said that she was sick of the medication and that she wasn't going to take it anymore. She said that there was no point, so why even bother? I didn't want to hear it, so I tried forcing her. That didn't end well. We yelled at each other, back and forth. She said some pretty mean things. I wasn't any better though. I just gave up in the end. I didn't give it to her. The last thing I said to her before leaving was, 'You shouldn't be such an ungrateful little bitch.'. I was so angry with her that I didn't go back the rest of the day. No, I went out. I went over to Kiba's until I had to go back home. When I got home, I thought I should apologize, but I figured I would do it the next day."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. It didn't do much. More tears simply replaced the ones she wiped away. She couldn't even keep her voice under control anymore. "She died that night." A choked sob escaped from her mouth. "I woke up at three in the morning, and saw them carry her out."

She covered her face with her hands and tried to keep her sobbing sounds to a minimum. Her entire body trembled from keeping her crying under control. She didn't want to go out into a full out cry fest in front of Naruto.

Naruto pulled the crying girl into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He held onto her until she calmed herself down.

"I didn't know it was anything like that," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. She pulled out of his embrace and sat on her knees. "It's alright," she sniffed and wiped the traces of tears away from her face.

"Y'know," he said while she did her best to clean up her face, "you're not the only one that this has happened to."

"I know that," she said. "But, it still hurts."

"I know. But it's kind of reassuring, y'know? Knowing that, you're not the only one that this has happened to. That there are people out there who know exactly how you feel."

He got up onto his feet and walked a bit out towards the water. He turned and faced her.

"Knowing that there's people out there who hurt the same way you do. It sucks, because you know how bad it feels and that's the last thing you want anyone to feel, but at the same time it's comforting. Because, you're not special."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and gave her a smile.

"I mean, it's good to be special, being different in general. I'm just talking about coping with shit."

"No, I understand what you're saying. And you're right, I guess. I guess it is a little comforting knowing that there is someone who understands how I feel."

Even though she should feel a little enlightened, she frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking... I still felt alone, all this time, but Neji has been with me."

"It could be because Neji isn't like you. To overcome the past, I think you need someone who went through the same exact emotional crisis as you."

"But Neji-"

"Yeah, Neji's parents abandoned him like a couple of bastards. I get how he can feel the same as you and how you can feel like he is like you, but they're not dead. They're alive and well somewhere. And it's different when the one person who means the absolute most to you dies. Because then it's not only abandonment, it also feels like betrayal. Y'know, your not only sad and fucking miserable, but now your just so fucking angry at everything and you hate everything and it just pisses you off because it hurts so fucking much! And... Argh! Y'know? Everything, just everything is wrong! It's not fair and all you want is for God to give you a break but it's like no! No break for you! It's just frustrating, aggravating! Your so pissed off with the world that everytime you see someone smile or laugh you just want to go over to them and rip it right off their fucking face! Because it's not fair! Why the fuck are they happy?! Why can't I be happy?! Why the fuck am I miserable?!"

He stopped ranting and inhaled shallow breaths. His voice trembled with the beginning of his next words.

"Then it's the whole... why am I still alive? What purpose do I have? Why am I here? Why only me?"

He plopped back down next to Hinata and put his head on his knees.

"Why am I the only one still alive?" he half muttered to himself.

Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder. She didn't have a clue how to comfort him. Most of the time, it was her on the comforted end. Naruto looked over to her and realized that he was drowning himself in his own pain again. He quickly pushed his legs to the ground and lifted his head high. He flashed her his smile.

"Sorry... kind of went off there."

"It's okay," she told him. "Why... I told you my story, why don't you tell me yours?"

He shook his head. "You don't want to hear me bemoan my own sorry lot."

"Yes, I do. Look, it's not fair if I tell you something, and you don't tell me anything."

Naruto sighed. "What do you want me to tell you?"

Hinata closed her eyes in thought. "Tell me," she said carefully, "why you're alone."

"I thought everyone knew about that," he said with a sad smile.

"We only know about what happened to your brother, and that was only because we overheard the sensei's talking. You've never told anyone yourself."

"And that's what you want? For me to tell you the story yourself."

Hinata nodded.

"Alright," he sighed. "Let's see... Well, I had a mom, I had a dad, and I had an older brother, and we we're in our little Tokyo home. Then one day, while I was at school, my mom talked my dad into going out for lunch together. The um, the train they got on, what happened was, it derailed and it smashed up against the tunnel and when it came to a platform, it just.. crunched, I don't know. All I know was that, a lot of people were impaled, my dad being one of them. I was pulled out of school and taken to the hospital so I could be with my mother. I was able to hold her hand while she died.

"Eiji wasn't living with us anymore. He uh, he got a scholarship to our school so, mom and dad set him up with that little place over there so he could go. I came to live with him since our grandparents were dead and my dad's parent's wanted nothing to do with us. It took awhile for us to get used to the idea of being on our own, but as long as each of us was around, everything was as fine as it could be.

"Then one day we just go into this stupid ass fight, I don't even remember what it was over, something that was most likely nothing. I just got so pissed off that I told him I wished it was him that had died instead of our parents. Not the smartest thing I've ever said, and I was too stubborn to say sorry. I just went to bed without saying anything else.

"When I woke up the next day, he wasn't home. It was Sunday, that was usually the day that he went out to do errands and shit, so I didn't freak out. The way I figured, he'd come and we'd just fucking get over it without saying anything, y'know, like usual. Then that fucking gas explosion hit local and of course, he had to be one of the fucking nine who died on scene. I felt like shit afterwards."

His story was done. There was nothing more for him to tell. He didn't show it, but he was doing his best to keep his emotions in check. There was no way he was going to allow himself to cry over the same story again and again.

The two of them sat in silence, one right next to the other. Hinata's eyes turned upward again. Naruto decided to lay on his back and gaze upward instead of straining his head in the upward direction. It was a good while before one of them spoke.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

She smiled down at him. "You're not in this alone. Let me break this awkward silence, let me go on record be the first to say I'm sorry."

Naruto looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Slowly, a small smile worked its way onto his face. Hinata opened her mouth to say something else, but wasn't able to say anything. Naruto laughed before the words came out, cutting her off. He sat up and pushed the girl playfully.

"Steal what I told you," he said between his laughter.

"I couldn't help it," she smiled at him. "It just seemed right."

"That's why I said it to you."

Her smiled brightened. "Thank you."

"It's nothing."

"No, it means a lot to me."

"Fine," he chuckled. "You're welcome. And thanks... for listening to me, I guess."

"Anytime."

Naruto got up and brushed himself off. "Come on," he said, holding out his hand to her. "It's gotta be past two already and you have a modeling job to do. The last thing I want to hear is Sai bitch about how I kept his model up."

Hinata took his hand and let herself be helped up from the ground. Together they walked over to the chain linked fence. Naruto lifted part of the fence up from it's foundation. One after the other, they went through the hole and made their way into Naruto's home.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX

**Glossary **

Ankle: Be either used as "walk" or "move".  
Berries: 1. Perfect 2. Money  
Blow: 1. A crazy party 2. Leave  
Bushwa: Bullshit  
Crush: We all know what this means, I'm just saying that it originated druing the 20's, because they were poitively copacetic.  
Dewdropper: A young man who sleeps all day and doesn't have a job  
East Egger: Great Gatsby reference, East Eggers were rich people who lived in East Egg  
Fella: Fellow, popular as "dude" or "man" during the 20's  
Futz: Fuck  
Get Hot! Get Hot!: Encouragement for a female dancer  
Gin mill: A cheap speakeasy that sells hard liquor  
Joint: Establishment  
Owl: A person who stays out late  
Pos-i-lute-ly: same as "ab-so-lute-ly"  
Water proof: A face that doesn't require make-up.


	19. II, vii

xxx  
Scene VII: "Love is a spirit all compact of fire, Not gross to sink, but light and will aspire."  
xxx

As far as Hinata could remember, this had to have been one of the busiest Sundays of her life.

Both her and Naruto had woken up later than the time they had intended to awaken to. When they realized the time, only twenty minutes or so before Sai said he would show up, they sprang into action. Hinata took up her clothing and went into the bathroom to shower. When she came out, she immediately ran to Naruto's aid.

In an attempt to repay Hinata for the lunch she had made them yesterday, Naruto wanted to make breakfast with what was leftover. Though done with good intention, the pan he was using caught fire. As if that wasn't enough, the trail of oil that ran around the burners (he had spilt it earlier and instead of cleaning it up like he should have, he let it spread) helped spread the flame so that the entire stove top was caught in a grease fire.

The first thought Naruto had was to go for the sink. Fortunately Hinata had already stepped out at this moment and was able to stop him before he was able to make the situation worse. It was lucky for both of them that when shopping yesterday morning, Hinata had picked up a lard bag of flour. With all her might threw all contents in the sack onto the flames. Incidentally enough, Naruto was caught in the crossfire and was powdered from head to toe.

Only after Hinata was completely sure that the fire was out for good did she notice Naruto's flour covered appearance and laughed. It was also at this moment that Sai chose to enter without any warning. Sai took one look at the blonde boy before calling him a "flour lover" causing Hinata to laugh all the more and for Naruto to storm into his bedroom, muttering about jerks who take his slang and use it against him.

While Naruto cleaned himself up, Sai went to work on Hinata's make-up. Her eyes were heavily done with different shades of brown, the bottom of her eyelids were lined with a brown pencil. He then painted her lips in a cupid's bow with a lip brush dipped in a deep blue-red color. He explained to her that even though the photos would be in black and white with red being the only color shown, it didn't mean that he wouldn't accent her features any less. The brown would make her eye color more prominent and using the lip brush instead of applying the color straight on would create a matte effect, making it look like her true lip color.

Naruto came out while he was explaining what he was using and why. He poked fun at how Sai knew so much about make-up, to which Sai rebutted by saying that cosmetics were nothing more than just a different form of paints and a face a canvas. He then said that any lesser artist would know that. Apparently Naruto took it as Sai insinuating that he was below the lesser artist. Hinata did her best to calm the blonde down before he was able to explode at the boy.

After cleaning around the stove area as best as the could, they went to Ichiraku's for breakfast, then to the places Sai had chosen to shoot at. There were several locations, many of them were self-explanatory like the hospital, the cemetery, even the convalescent home. But other's Sai needed to explain himself, like the elementary school playground, the inside of a train, and the Christian's church.

They went to at least thirty different areas and Hinata had posed for more than one hundred photos. A last minute place Sai wanted to shoot at was an alleyway. He had Naruto scout through downtown on his board for the right one. By the time they were finished, it was two in the afternoon.

"We should get something to eat," Naruto suggested to them. "I only got one bowl of ramen this morning."

"I guess your right," Sai replied while packing most of his equipment away. "I could eat. But we're not giong to Ichiraku's."

"What? Why the hell not?"

"Because we already went there today."

"Where else would you want to eat?"

"How 'bout a place with more options?"

"Come on, Naruto," Hinata started to persuade him. "There's plenty of places to eat around here, I'm sure."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Fine... Hey, KM's like a restaurant before it opens as a night club, let's go there!"

"Any reason to go, right?" Hinata half laughed half asked.

"Damn straight," he responded with a curt nod. "I'm gonna go check it first though, make sure and all that. I'll be right back."

Naruto threw his board to the ground and rode off in the direction of the building. Hinata began taking her wings off, Sai stopped her though.

"Is it okay if I take one more picture of you?" he asked.

"Uh, sure. I don't see why not."

"Good. If you could sit over here..."

xxx

The atmosphere inside the club was different from last night. The lighting was even throughout the building, there was no blaring music, and the dance floor everyone knew as the pit had tables and chairs scattered across. Instead of the usual set of instruments that graced the stage, there was only a solitary microphone and a stool. It was set up so that anyone who wanted to perform something or read a poem or anything like that, they were able to.

The trio sat in a booth near the back. Just having finished their lunch, they were finishing off the remnants of their drinks while chatting away.

"I'll be right back," Hinata said while sliding out from her seat.

"Gonna iron your shoelaces?" Naruto asked her. She nodded meekly. "Don't worry about us. We'll be here, punching the bag."

Sai watched Hinata walk away from the table. Once she was out of sight and ear shot, he turned to Naruto.

"So what exactly is going on with you two?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto looked slightly confused by the question.

"Are you dating?"

"What? No."

"Are you in denial?"

"No. What the hell brought this on?"

"Uh, I don't know, she's only staying at your house for the weekend while her father's gone."

"She's having problems at home so I'm letting her crash at my place."

"You took her out last night."

"I brought her along because I didn't think she'd like staying home alone. That and I didn't want to be an ass and leave her there while I went out."

"You payed for her clothes yesterday," Sai reminded him.

"And?"

"Why'd you do that?"

Naruto shrugged. "I just felt like it."

"That's your answer?" His voice clearly had the impression that he didn't believe it.

"What d'you want? I don't know why. I know I didn't have to, but I just wanted to. Whatever. Does it really matter?"

"It might."

"How?"

"I don't know," Sai shrugged. "But do you know for sure that it isn't going to matter."

Naruto stared at him. "What?"

"If you're asking if it doesn't really matter, then how can you be so certain that it won't matter?"

He stared at him some more. "And you say I chew gum."

Sai looked at him oddly. "What does that mean?"

Naruto ignored his question and continued on. "Listen, I'm sure there are pretty copacetic reasons why I do a lot of things. But I'm being on the up and up when I say I just don't get in a lather over 'em with reading into it."

It was Sai's turn to stare at him. "Okay, I'm going to say this right now. I barely get what you say sometimes."

"Bull, you've even used some."

"Yes I have, but only because I read up on some of it since it's the only way I'll ever understand what comes out of your mouth."

Suddenly the lights dimmed and a single spotlight was left on stage. All eyes locked onto a figure approaching the mic. It was one of those beatniks that Kiba disliked so much. Not them as much as just whenever they performed onstage. Standing in front of the mic and without warning, she snapped her fingers and recited her poetry.

"Pollution, all around.  
Sometimes... up.  
Sometimes... down.  
But always! around...  
Pollution, are you coming to my town?  
Or am I coming to yours?  
Either way, we're both using...  
Petroleum."

She bowed dramatically and sauntered off the stage as others dressed exactly like her snapped their fingers as way of applause.

"What just happened?" Sai questioned more to himself than to anyone else.

"It's poetry, man," Naruto answered while snapping his own fingers. "An art form that expresses freedom with words."

"Ha! As though mere drivel could be considered art, un!"

"What the hell?!" Naruto brought his legs up onto the booth seat and twisted his body around to see who it was that spoke. "Why the hell are you listening in on us?!"

He faced what at first glance would be thought as a woman, but upon closer inspection would recognize as really being a man. He reminded Naruto a great deal of Ino.

"If you don't like it," the stranger said, "next time don't speak so loud, un."

Though the irony of the situation should have hit him, Naruto began to say how whatever they discussed at their table was no concern of anyone not involved directly, to which the other man politely contributed to. Add in a few choice swear words and an argument broke out soon afterwards.

"Deidara," a collected voice broke their argument. "You're fighting with a child."

Naruto's eyes traveled in search of where the voice had come from. Sitting at the curved part of the boothed table was who Naruto first thought was Sasuke. Before he could say anything though, it registered in his mind that it was someone he had seen with the other boy before. Then it hit him.

"You!" he yelled at pointed at the man. "You're that guy that ran me over!"

"What's that?" a third party from their table voiced. "You ran over someone, Itachi."

"Hm? Not recently," he said thoughtfully.

"So does that mean that this is the kind of thing you do all the time," the other man said. "I never thought something like that would come from you, Itachi."

"He's only joking, Tobi," Deidara told him. "At least I think, un."

"You honestly believe that I would run over helpless children?" Itachi asked him.

"With your eyesight, I'll believe anything, un."

Itachi chose to ignore the comment directed at his failing vision. Instead he looked towards Naruto. "You do look familiar. You're still in high school?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered. "I go to the K academy in the old district."

"The one off of the main street?"

"There's only one."

"Isn't that the school your brother goes to, Itachi?" Deidara asked.

"I remember now," said Itachi. "I was dropping Sasuke off when you crashed into my car."

"More like you crashed into me," Naruto replied.

"Well how 'bout I compensate?" he asked. "As an apology for almost shortening your life, I'll pay for your meal."

"For real? Well hell, I've never been one to say no to a free meal."

"I was paying for it," Sai reminded him.

"Name's Naruto," he ignored Sai and extended his hand. "And that bastard behind me is Sai."

"You want to borrow a book on etiquette?" Sai asked him.

"Obviously did you no good," Naruto directed at the boy.

"I'm Itachi, that there is Deidara, and over there is Tobi." Itachi pointed to each respective memeber while introducing. "You can ignore him though."

"Wha?!" Tobi cried from his seat. "That isn't nice, I'm just as much a part of this group as anyone else."

"Hardly," Deidara muttered.

"You can stand to be a little nicer," Naruto told him.

"Look who's talking, un."

"You're face is talking!"

"Oh! A brilliant comeback, un! What a devastating repartee! Talk about Oscar Wilde!"

"Really?" Tobi asked. "Okay. Oscar Wilde was an English writer, persecuted for his homosexuality. He was born in Dublin-"

"Shut up, Tobi," Deidara cut him off. "Shut up."

"Why don't you dry up," Naruto scolded. "He was just balled up is all."

Deidara stared at him. "What did you say?"

"Welcome to my world," Sai said in the background.

Hinata had reappeared a bit earlier than that moment. She was smiling softly at the bantering going back and forth, waiting to be noticed. Naruto saw her first.

"Ready to go?" he asked her.

"If you are," she said.

"Alright," he turned his head back to other group. "We've gotta see a man about a dog now, but I'll tell Kat about your offer when I pass her by."

"Fine by me," Itachi said. "But just so you know, when you use that saying, it usually means you're going to buy whiskey."

Naruto stared at him incredulously before breaking out into a smile. "This guy knows slang!"

He chuckled to himself over that while him and Sai scooted out from their positions behind their table. "Actually," Naruto said. "I knew that. But so many people never really get what I say, I just say whatever I think fits. Well, see ya later then, Itachi, Tobi, Ethel."

"What the hell did you call me!" the other blonde shouted at the retreating figures.

"Deidara," Itachi muttered. "Stop it before you make an ass of yourself."

"It's a little late for that," Tobi laughed.

Leaving the small bit of comic relief behind them, the high school trio made their way out of the establishment after confirming their method of payment with the owner. The sun was still shining when they made it outside.

"It's still pretty earlier," Sai commented. "You wanna do anything else?"

"Up for more adventure?" Naruto asked Hinata.

"I could go for some whoopee," she answered she answered with a smile.

"Alright!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "Let's paint this town red!"

"I think green would be a more fitting color," Sai told him.

"Oh ha ha ha, very witty," said Naruto.

"I'm glad you think so."

Naruto rolled his eyes and took the lead in their search for entertainment.

xxx

It was well into the evening by the time they had come home, finished cleaning the kitchen, and each had a cup of ramen for dinner. Right now they were both dressed in their pajamas, sitting in front of the stereo, talking about pointless things and asking each other random questions.

"Old Greeday or new Greenday?"

"No doubt, old Greenday kicks new Greenday's ass," answered Naruto. "What 'bout you?"

"I liked their older albums better."

"Because they were better. Favorite MCR album?"

"Hm.. First."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Well.. I like the raw aspect of the first, but I'm gonna go with their last one."

"What's your favorite song on that one?" she asked.

"I'm gonna say.. The End. You? What's your fave on your album."

"Demolition Lovers," she answered simply. "That's also my absolute favorite song."

"That's such a girl's song. I mean- you know what I mean. Well, whatever. Favorite AFI album?"

"This one." She jerked her head in the direction of the music.

"Get outta here, for real?"

She nodded happily. "Days of the Phoenix, that's my song. And you?"

"This album too," he said. "My song's Catch a Hot One and Morningstar. They're just so... I don't want to say deep, 'cause that's just gonna sound pathetic."

"It's okay," she smiled while she said it. "I know what you mean."

The next track played.

"It's your song," he said and poked her ribs.

"So it is," she laughed.

The first set lyrics pulsed through their minds. The words enveloping their beings and giving them both a sense of small comfort. Unconsciously, Hinata began to sing.

"_Time was so tangible, I'll never let it go. Ghost stories handed down, reached secret tunnels below."_

They both sang the last line, "_No one could see me._"

"You know what I think?" Naruto asked out of nowhere. "I think there are like, different time dimensions. Like there's a dimension for the past where it keeps going, a dimension for now, and another dimension for the furutre where a bunch of stuff is going on."

Hinata snorted. She didn't mean to seem rude or anything. It was just the sheer randomness that make it sound funny. "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know, it just kinda popped in my head. You know what I mean though?" She shook her head. "Alright, I'll explain the past bit 'cause it's probably the easiest to understand. I think, that there is a dimension where the past repeats itself. Not like the entire past, but like, just moments. Y'know how people say they want to stay in a moment forever? I think that in another dimension, that moment you want to stay in forever is doing just that."

"Like this moment now?"

"Yeah, like this moment right now. It's present for us, but tomorrow it'll be past. But even though it's past, it's living on, just in another dimension."

"I can believe that."

"Yeah, it's really something. Like that one happy moment of your life, that you never wanted to end, it's still going on."

"It's happening right now," she said absentmindedly.

"Exactly."

The next track played.

"Your song." She poked him in the ribs like he had done to her earlier.

"I know," he chuckled. "Even though, I only know the chorus."

"It's okay," she told him. "I only know the chorus too."

They said nothing, just waited for the chorus to play and sang together in semi-low voices. "_Have you turned, turned to dust. I saw an insect learn to fly. Have you ever seen the kingdom of the flies? Have you lost sense of touch? I stayed in sovereignty. Have you ever turned to dust?_"

"What do you think that means?" he asked her. "Turning to dust?"

"Hm... I think, it connects with losing touch. When you're able to feel something, your solid. When you can't, it's like, becoming transparent. When doing that, not only are you losing your senses, but everything, like emotions. Without those, you become hollow inside, and eventually everything just means nothing to you. I think that's when a person crumbles into dust."

She shook her head a little. "Of course it's all metaphorically speaking."

"Well yeah, I got that. I know I'm a little stupid but give me some credit."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, it's fine. I was just kidding. I keep forgetting how apologetic you can be."

They say quietly, letting the song run through to its end. At the beginning of the next track, Naruto spoke up to break the silence that had settled between them.

"Have you tunred to dust?"

She nodded slowly. "I guess I have. Guess it was a bit inevitable for me. What about you?"

Naruto nodded as well. "Guess losing an entire family would do that to you though."

Hinata reached out for his hand. She was getting used to this whole asserting herself aspect, but for once she wanted to be the one comforting instead of the one being comforted.

He looked up at her with a bit of surprise in his eyes. She didn't see it though. She kept her eyes cast downwards. His leps made a small smile as he squeezed her hand lightly as a thank you.

"So are you solid again?" he asked.

"... I don't know," her voice held the uncertainty she was saying. "I mean, I guess I'm a lot more solid than I used to be. I guess if I didn't have anyone looking after me, I wouldn't be. You?"

Naruto shrugged. "As solid as I could be I guess."

"Did anyone help you?"

"Actually, yeah. Neko helped me."

"How?"

"Well.. it was like a couple months after Eiji had died. It didn't really matter what anyone told me, I was so fucked out of my mind, and um.. I was the opposite of you. Instead of wishing for them to come back, I just wished that I was dead. I figured it was easier to die instead of trying to bring them back. That and I was just "what the hell am I doing here?" all the time.

"But then I found her. Neko that is. She was so tiny. She was still just a kitten. Two months old. She was really, really skinny. I mean, she was a stray so she would have been. I brought her home, gave her some food, and she's been with me ever since.

"So she's like my little savior. Gave me a reason to stay alive. If I hadn't have found her, she probably would have died too."

"Lucky for Neko you were there."

"Yeah, and now she's spoiled more than anything. Though I guess that's a little more my fault than anything. Hey, Morningstar."

"So it is..."

"Yeah... Y'know, this is the only song I can play, and not even completely at that."

"How come?"

"I 'unno. Guess 'cause it's gets so exaggerated at the end."

Hinata smiled to herself. "Will you play for me?"

He looked at her longways. "I'll play if you sing."

Hinata turned her head away and smiled bashfully. 'Should I? I want to hear him play, should I just go with it? Do it, Hinata! This is the perfect opportunity to start coming out of that shell of yours!'

She nodded more to herself than to Naruto. "Okay."

"Really? You'll do it?"

She nodded to him and he smiled. "You're changing," he said. "It's not a lot, but I can tell it's a bit. But it's in a good way."

Naruto stood up and switched the stereo off. He picked his brother's guitar up and turned the amp on low. "The thing is," he said while sliding the chair out from under the desk and sitting down on it, "the chords are repetitive and don't change that much, so it's easy for me to play. But like I said, the end changes the pattern like nothing and I can't get it yet. Someday I'll be able to get through a song though. I mean, I should at least be able to get one down. Then I'll play it on the rooftop so all will be able to bow down to my amazing memory skills."

"You want to know something funny?" she asked while he laughed at his own imagination and she moved closer to him.

"What's that?"

Hinata blushed lightly and smiled softly. "I... I've had this kind of, romantic fantasy, about the boy I liked, he would play me one of my favorite songs on a rooftop. Kind of like, proclaiming his love for me in front of everyone."

It was Naruto's turn to snort. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just.. that's so damn cliched. It's unreal. Nothing like that happens in real life. Shit like that only happens in drama ridden high school stories written by teenage girls."

Hinata felt a little hurt by what he said. Still, she defended herself. "I know it's a bit unimaginative and unoriginal, and even if it was awhile ago when I first thought it up, it's still my own fantasy."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mocked your little girl fantasy."

"I still feel like you're mocking me. Answer me, Naruto, if you were so in love with a girl, would you go as far as to be that cliche and do it? If it was the only way to make her realize you were really serious?"

Naruto actually considered the thought. "Hn. I think Sakura still wouldn't care."

Hinata's heart dropped, but she showed nothing. "You.. you really like her, don't you?"

Naruto scratched his head. "I don't know about being stuck on her or anything, but I have liked her for the longest time that's for sure. She's smart and she's pretty, she's got a lot of potential to do something great. I guess it's a crush, but I don't know about love."

Hinata felt as though she should be a little relieved about what he had said. If he wasn't _in_love with Sakura, there's the off chance that he would get over her with time. But still, some doubt lied within her, she had to ask another question.

"But, Naruto, if Sakura were to have changed her mind and asked you to be with her, would you?

He closed his eyes and tapped his foot in serious thought. He opened them again. "I've wanted to for the longest time, so, yeah, I probably would."

When he looked at Hinata directly, he saw her wipe tears away from her eyes. "Hinata? Hey, why're you crying?" He was totally surprised.

"I-I don't know," her tone held an equal amount of surprise. "I was just sitting here and I just started tearing up."

'Did his answer hurt me that badly,' she thought. 'I felt the tears starting to form just while I was waiting for an answer, but I still don't understand why I started crying.'

"I.. I could just be getting tired," she quickly made up an excuse. "Sometimes, my eyes will start to water when I need to sleep."

"Huh. Well maybe we should just go to bed."

"No, no. I want to hear you play."

"You sure?" he asked uncertainly.

"One song won't hurt me, Naruto."

"Okay, but after this let's go to bed."

"Okay."

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX

**Glossary**

Balled up: Confused, messed up.  
Bull: (1) A policeman or law-enforcement official, including FBI. (2) Nonesense, bullshit (3) To chat idly, to exaggerate  
Chewing gum: Double-speaking, ambiguous talk  
Copacetic: Excellent, good, great, anything positive really (and also my favorite word)  
Dry up: Shut up.  
Ethel: An effeminate male.  
Flour lover: A girl who wears too much face powder  
Get in a lather: Get worked up.  
Iron one's shoelaces: Going to the bathroom.  
"I've gotta see a man about a dog": "I've gotta leave now" but it does usually refer to going out and buying whiskey.  
On the up and up: Legitimate, honest.  
Punching the bag: Makind idle small talk  
Stuck on: In love.  
Whoopee: Wild fun.

Who can guess what I was watching while I was writing this? I doubt anyone would, but it's pretty evident in the third section.


	20. II, viii

xxx  
Scene VIII: "If it be love, indeed, tell me how much."  
xxx

Gossip is a strange business. It's defined as idle chatter, but the speed that it is able to travel at is uncanny. The way it goes around is laughable. There could be something happening in the world that would change everything as we may know it, but if there was also something going on with an A-list celebrity, chances are we would hear about the second faster than we would the first. This could only be another example of how this world is in shambles. Of course gossip is not only limited to mainstream media. Rumors in everyday life, in an ordinary neighborhood are susceptible to being spread around. Even more so in a government instituted building like a High School. Talk is talk and as long as there are those willing to spread the word, gossip will always exist and travel at an extraordinary pace. Especially so, when the chatter involves one of the more notable students. Example:

Everyone knew that it was routine for Neji and Hinata to walk to school together, sometimes holding hands and whatnot. So when Neji was spotted alone, the first thought to enter people's minds was, "Hinata must have stayed at home with a cold.", or something along those lines. But then when Hinata appeared just a moment later riding atop of Naruto's skateborad (with him holding her waist to prevent her from falling off), their previous thought was replaced with something along the lines of, "What the hell?". Interest in the two grew even more as they were observed while speaking animatedly to each other at the school's front.

From the morning before actual classes began to their break period, word was spreading that something must have occurred between the two over the weekend for something out of the ordinary to be going on. And more so, Neji was not interfering with any of it. For those who knew well enough, her cousin was like an over protective bodyguard. It was somewhat unnatural to see him without her and vice versa, unless of course they were in separate classrooms at the time. So seeing Naruto and Hinata interact in a more familiar level and Neji not doing anything about (in truth to everyone he seemed to have been encouraging it by not making any opposition to it) it appeared to many that indeed something had occurred, and with it Neji had given consent. But what?

Had she finally confess herself to him after so long? Had he finally seen the light and realize her feelings after years of oblivion? Or did someone play matchmaker? Was it Neji who had done it?

In truth, nothing really had happened between the two. Their familiarity with each other was due to the fact that they had more or less poured out their hearts to one another. And because of that, some new strength was added to their friendship that was not there before. They both knew that it takes a great deal to open up so much to another person. There's always that fear of not being understood and the situation is taken more lightly then it really should be.

That was the reason, but it's not as if they were going to explain themselves when they were oblivious to the fact that they were the main topic of everyone's social talk. That and, well, it was just a bit personal.

So while they joked and played around with each other, sometimes speaking in what was like to everyone else a code, those around them were discussing what could have happened over such a small period of time to make them like they were now.

Which was exactly what their own group of personal friends were discussing during their lunch hour while the other two were some feet away from them on one of the grassy areas of the Courtyard. They were actually playing some sort of game that they had created, totally innocent from the "scandal" that they had created.

"You guys said that you were with them on Saturday," Ino said. "Were they acting wierd like this then?"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Come on," she whined. "Tell us what happened."

"Why do you care?" Kiba asked her.

"I just feel totally out of the loop," answered Ino. "They're my friends too, I want know what happened."

"I gotta be honest," Sakura said. "I kinda feel the same way."

"Me too," Tenten added. "So spill it. What happened with them?"

'Hopefully they did get together,' she thought. 'That way I could swoop in and comfort a heartbroken Kiba. Next thing you know he only has eyes for me.'

"So were they acting differently around each other or anything?" questioned Ino.

"Didn't look like it to me," Chouji answered her. "But then again, I've never really seen them around each other outside of school."

"That doesn't answer anything," Sakura half cried. "I mean, what were they doing? Were they smiling at each other a lot? Holding hands? Secret glances? Whispering? What?!"

"Sakura, calm down," Shikamaru said. "You sound like a crazy jealous lover or something."

"Hey, don't tell me that you're starting to feel something for Naruto," Kiba directed at her.

''Cause that would be just great if she did,' he thought.

"What?!" she cried. "Of course not. I just want to know when the hell all of this started happening."

She pointed at the pair now running around what seemed to be blindly in their own little play area. Then without notice, Naruto grabbed Hinata from behind, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around.

'Although,' her mind started to wander while watching the two, 'maybe I am just a little. It's bad enough that I can't get the boy I like to fawn over me, but if I lose Naruto, then what does that say about me?'

"You didn't answer any of her questions though," Tenten pointed out. "Were they holding hands?"

"Well... kind of," Kiba said. "But only because he was guiding her into the club! Right, Shino?"

Shino's only response was a slight nod.

"So they were holding hands," Ino repeated excitedly.

"Because he was guiding her!" Kiba shouted to remind them.

"What about dancing?" the blonde girl inquired.

"Well, yeah, they- they did."

"That's it!" Tenten yelled out with glee. "Hinata wouldn't dance ever! 'Cause you know she's like that. All shy and stuff in front of people. The fact that she was with Naruto, of all people, that must mean something!"

"It means nothing!" exclaimed Kiba.

An almost awkward silence settled amongst them.

"Damn, Kiba," Ino said. "I didn't know you had a thing for Naruto too."

Shikamaru threw her a dirty look while the other two girls giggled slightly.

"No one's ever going to leave me alone about that," he sighed. "Man, what a drag."

"I don't think you could pull off drag," Ino told him. He shot her another dirty look and she giggled heartily. "Sorry, Shikamaru. It's just, why Naruto of all people?"

"Look, I don't want to get into it. Why don't you all just go back to talking about Naruto being with Hinata."

"He isn't with her," Kiba defended.

"Well it sure doesn't look that way," said Tenten.

"Watch," Kiba directed at her. "I'll bring them over and you can ask them for yourselves."

Kiba stood up from his sitting position and dusted himself off lightly. He walked away from the others and made his way across the small path slowly. While he was pretty sure that nothing was going on between the two, a small smidgen of doubt lingered in his mind.

He was a few steps away from them when they started to engage in a make-believe battle. He called out for their attention.

"Hey! You guys!"

They both stopped their pretend sword play and turned their heads in Kiba's direction. The smiles on their faces vanished instantly and were replaces with widened eyes filled with horror.

"Kiba!" they cried out in unison. "Don't!"

A little too late for their warning. Kiba felt something squish underneath his shoe. He lifted his foot in order to see what it was exactly he had smashed. There layed a very smashed looking mushroom.

"Kiba!" yelled Naruto. "What did you do?!"

Kiba looked at the two of them. Naruto looked as though he was somewhere between devastated and livid. Hinata on the other hand looked like she would burst into tears at any given time.

"Kiba," she spoke softly. "How could you?"

"W-wait!" he exclaimed. "What did I do?"

"What did they ever do to you?" she continued to ask him.

Kiba was at a loss for words. "What? They who?"

"The faeries, Kiba!" cried Naruto. "The faeries!"

He looked at the blonde incredulously. "Wha?"

"Faeries, Kiba. They live under mushrooms."

Kiba's brow furrowed. "Fairies live under mushrooms?"

"Some do," Naruto said. "Come on, that's like, common knowledge."

"Yeah, common knowledge for idiots." He quickly looked at Hinata as soon as the words left his mouth. "I don't mean you though, Hinata."

"Thanks a bunch though, Kiba man," Naruto went on. "Now what are we going to solidly defend?"

"Naruto, I was solidly defending," Hinata reminded him. "You were trying to assassinate Rhianna."

"That's right," he said thoughtfully. He looked to Kiba. "Alright, just because you kinda helped me out doesn't excuse you from committing genocide."

"Whatever," the other boy groaned.

"This isn't whatever," Naruto fumed. "Mass genocide isn't a whatever thing."

Kiba looked to Hinata. She shook her head solemnly. "Mass genocide isn't a whatever thing," she repeated.

He sighed and returned his attention back to Naruto. "I'm sorry."

"That's it?!" Naruto cried. "You killed a whole community of fae and all you can say is sorry?!"

"What else do you want me to do?!"

Naruto tapped his chin in thought. "What do you think, Hinata?"

Kiba looked to the girl, and to his surprise found that she had assumed the same pose as Naruto.

"Well, what's the ususal for commiting mass murder?"

"A medal?" he said unsurely.

"No, Naruto, not Hector's reward for genocide," she sweatdropped. "Think good side."

"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "There really is no punishment. Think about it. Sapphire doesn't hold the crown and she's in constant hiding. There's nothing mentioned in the faerie kingdom as far as I know. And the Fates don't say anything about it."

"I thought Pyro said something about it once," she said.

"Hm.. No, he was talking about what happened when treason happened in a solitary part of the kingdom. And that was only during the previous King's reign."

"What about Child? She knows everything."

"Child isn't used like that though. She's more shown as a soothsayer... which doesn't make much sense when you get down to it. I mean, if she fortune tells, then what are the Fates for?"

"Well, the Fates can't help them really," she explained. "They're bound by the Eternals. They can't share anything with them. Child can because she's Hector's counterpart."

"Hector has a counterpart?!"

"The wizard Hector, not Hector the evil reigning King of Darkness."

"Oh.. that's right. What's the wizard there for? Y'know I only ever see him get them into more trouble throughout everything."

"He does, but he's also the logical one, whereas Child only carries knowledge but a lack of good judgement. And he can do magic."

"I so don't think it's fair that the faeries can't do magic."

"That's not completely true, remember? Delirium said that since Hector came into power they've been reduced to meaningless pranks because he was afraid that they might be able to do something about him. As long as the taboo is kept on them, they can't do anything."

"Which you know, I don't see why he would have been afraid of them. I mean, he's got the dragons on his side and all of their tamers, it's like he couldn't just roast them."

"But the faries' magic knows no law. They can do anything."

"Oh... Right, I forgot that. How do you think that works?"

"I don't know. It's complicated."

"Betcha anything it's the most simple explanation ever."

"Knowing DeRange, probably."

Kiba watched their banter go back and forth. Apparently they had forgotten the mass genocide he had just commited on the mushroom village.

'I've never seen them like this before,' he thought. 'I don't like it.'

"Hey," he called out to them before they were able to go into their conversation any further. "So I've got something to ask you guys."

"Wha? Oh, hey, Kiba, what's up?" Naruto asked him.

"Did you forget I was here?!" he questioned.

"Kinda, but whatdija need?"

He was going to ask him just exactly how he had forgotten that he had threatened a punishment on him not long ago for crushing a mushroom, but thought better of it. "Just follow me, okay?"

"Both of us?" Hinata asked him. Kiba nodded. "Where are we going?"

"Just over to the others," he told them and started to walk back to the group that had stopped all conversation and decided to watch the three on the other side of the yard.

"Why?" Naruto questioned him while following behind Hinata. "Is something going on?"

"Just come on," Kiba said to him from the front.

He led them back down the same way he took to get to them. As they saw the three approach them, the girls started acting as though they weren't watching from afar.

"Okay," Kiba said to them. "There they are, so just ask them."

"Ask us what?" Hinata asked the group.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Naruto asked them as well while positioning himself behind Hinata, throwing his arms over oher shoulders, and resting his head atop of hers.

"That!" Tenten shouted and pointed at them.

"Huh?" They both said in unison and tilting their heads in question at the same time.

"What's up with you two, Emo Girl?" Tenten clarified.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something about the pet name Tenten had given Hinata, but it was Hinata who sopke up for herself.

"I am not emo," she said to the other girl sternly. "I am Hyuuga Hinata, and I am a person, not a label!"

"What the hell, where did that come from?" Tenten voiced out.

"It came from me," Hinata continued. "And you know what, I've had about an earful of being called "emo". Y'know, I may not be a high hat or put the ritz on, but for crying out loud I'm a person and I have feelings that, y'know maybe I'm just not sure if I should show them or not. So just lay off with all the labeling, kid!"

"And how!" Naruto shouted out in agreement whilst pumping his right fist in the air.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Kiba asked, very concerned at the uncharacteristic outburst.

"For the first time in a long time, I think I finally will be," she told him. "Because, I was confused, and I let it all out to find that I'm not the only person with these things in mind."

"Hinata, what are you talking about?" Sakura asked from her seat.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "But, I want to let go of the pain I've held so long."

"Erase all the pain 'till it's gone," Naruto interjected right after she spoke. "Hey, have you ever thought it was weird that, the abbreviation for "until" has two "L"'s at the end, but the word only has one. Why is that?"

"I don't know," Hianta said to him. "We should consult something."

"To Wikipedia!" he cried out. "And we should probably look for my bag on the way..."

"You most likely left it in the library," she told him.

"Well c'mon, let's ankle before lunch ends." He grabbed at her hand and led her away from their friends who were then staring after the two in wonderment. Their gazes stayed on the pair until they couldn't be seen any longer.

"Okay," Ino said breaking the silence. "What the hell just happened? And what the hell is going on with them?"

"They didn't answer anything," Tenten pointed out.

"If you hadn't called her "emo", we probably would have gotten an answer," Kiba scolded her.

"How was I supposed to know she was gonna blow up? I mean, it's Hinata, she's never said anything about it before."

"What was she talking about?" Sakura inquired the group. "Being the only person- What did she say?"

"I kind of want to know why they seem to be speaking in a different language," Ino voiced. "And song lyrics."

"Forget it guys," Shikamaru said from his position. "Nothing's going on."

"How do you know that?" Tenten asked him.

"Trust me, I do. Now can all of you just shut up and talk about something else?"

The lunch hour finished awhile afterwards. Nothing was really answered, and a lot of questions were being asked now. To all them, it was as if the other two were hiding something. Now, they really weren't, it was more as though, they were too preoccupied with each other to realize the confusion they were causing with other people, especially those closest to them.

xxx

After the final bell, Naruto and Hinata were the last ones to walk out of their homeroom class with their arms linked. They were on their way down the second floor's flight of stairs when they had spotted Neji at the landing. The two halted as soon as they were in front of him, Hinata's arm slipped away from Naruto's. The atmosphere around them began to thicken.

"Your father will be home today," spoke Neji. He avoided eye contact with the both of them.

"I know," she said.

"Hey, Hinata," said Naruto. "Why don't you go ahead and grab your stuff from your locker. Me and Neji'll wait outside for you."

She nodded and started to walk away from the two of them. When she was a few steps ahead of them, she turned back and looked at Naruto questioningly.

"You're not going to bump him off are you?" she asked.

"No," he told her while shaking his head.

"Right." She continued to walk again. Then a few steps later she looked back again. "Really?"

"Do you want me to, 'cause I will."

"No, no." She shook her head a little aggressively. "I was just making sure."

She walked away all together from the two boys, rounding a corner and out of their sight. Naruto glanced once at Neji and walked towards the front entrance. Neji respectively followed after him.

Outside of the structure were hardly any students. There were some loitering around, waiting for classmates that had yet to exit the building and others that were still waiting for someone or other to drive by and give them a ride they had promised them that morning, if it would ever come. Naruto walked towards a position that was nowhere near any of them. They would be out of earshot and for the most part, out of sight.

Once he was at where he wanted to be, he rounded on Neji.

"How the hell am I supposed to know she's going to be okay with you?" he demanded.

Neji remained silent, his head lowered and eyes closed. After a decent amount of silence passed between them, his eyes snapped open and his head raised. His line of vision locked onto the boy in front of him.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "You wouldn't believe me no matter what I told you."

Naruto's head bobbed from side to side lightly, his body swayed back and forth a bit as well while his toes fidgeted inside of his shoes, the words Neji had just spoken sinking into him. "True. I wouldn't have." He stopped his constant movement and looked at Neji, his expression serious. "Honestly, I don't think she should be anywhere near you at all."

Neji said nothing.

"How the hell am I supposed to know she'll be alright," his previous question repeated. "I don't even know what the hell set you off on her the first time."

"She didn't tell you?" He asked the blonde. The curiosity clearly etched into his voice.

"No. Are you going to?"

Neji shook his head slightly. "If she didn't tell you, obviously she didn't want you to know."

Naruto let out an aggravated sigh. "This is just great," he muttered. He ran a hand over his face in both frustration and thought. "I never thought that you of all people would hurt her like that."

"I never wanted to hurt her," he said. "I didn't mean to do so either."

"So then why did you do it?!"

"I dont know.. But I can't stress how much I wish to take it back enough. I can't apologize enough for it either. Nor am I able to rationalize what I did. I know I did wrong, and I can't change the fact that I messed up. And I felt even worse when she told me she had forgiven me when I haven't even forgiven myself."

"Alright," Naruto cut in. "I get it, you don't have to get all Antigone on me, shit..."

Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked at some of the gravel in front of him. "She's willing to go back home and she's willing to trust you again, I think."

"I won't hurt her again."

"You're damn right, you won't. 'Cause if you do, Neji, then I think I'll just have to kill you."

"And I would let you."

Naruto walked towards the other, making the gap between them smaller. Out of nowhere, his right fist collided against Neji's jaw, making him fall backwards onto the ground.

"That's for whatever happened," he said. "I might not know exactly what the hell went on with you two, but I just couldn't let you get away with it."

"It's fine, I deserve it." He stood up and brushed himself off. "That's not an invitation to keep swinging punches at me though."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. "Well that was pretty anticlimactic."

"What is?"

He turned and found Hinata walking up to them.

"Life," he answered. Grin in place.

She gave him a small smile. "It's better than the alternative."

"Or so they say. Not like I know anything about it."

"Well then, how would they?"

"Good question. What do you think?"

She shrugged. "I wouldn't know where to begin."

"I wouldn't know either," he laughed. "Come on, you should get your stuff from my place. Do you know what time your dad's showing up."

She shook her head. "Actually I don't. I hope he's not there already."

"He isn't," Neji said. "I checked with the household, he hasn't arrived, but they don't know when he will show up either."

Hinata looked at him for the first time. She saw a bruise starting to form on his jaw line. "Neji, what happened?" She looked to Naruto. "You said you wouldn't hit him."

"I said I wouldn't kill him," the blonde pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," Neji said. "I'm fine. We should start walking though.'

They exited through the front gates and straight onto the route that would lead to Naruto's homestead. While the two in front of him talked about something he had nothing to say about, Neji allowed his thoughts to wander.

'I can't help but wonder about what happened between the two of them. It wasn't a very long stretch of time that they were in each other's company. But whatever happened seems to be having an effect on her. I've never seen her so happy. It's a bit of jealousy I suppose. Not being able to be the one that could make her smile like that. But, I won't get in their way. With any luck, he'll notice her in the same light I've always seen her in. By the look of things and from what people are saying, it might be that he already is.

She may not love me like I do her, and I accept that now, but I will be there should she ever need me. With her permission, I'll protect her should the need ever come up. Being in her life in that way, is a whole deal better than not being in it at all.'

It didn't seem long for any of them. They were at his front door in no time at all. Naruto asked Neji if he would prefer to wait out here for her, seeing as how she was just going to be grabbing her belongings. Neji complied and waited outside for her, unknowingly being watched by Jiraiya from across the ways from his living room window.

"You know," Naruto started, "if we come up with a good enough story, we could probably convince your old man to let you move in here."

She laughed. "Naruto, you're saying that we should convince my father, the man who told me that I wasn't allowed to date until I was married, that I should move in with a boy?"

"Yeah I know, but... do you think it's really okay to be with Neji?"

She zipped her travel bag up. "When he came over on Saturday, he told me that no matter what he would be there for me. He won't hurt me again, I know he won't. Something changed between us, but if we can get passed this then the two of us will be just fine. It's kind of hard to understand. I guess, to really get it, you would just have to experience it yourself."

She looked up into his eyes. "I still might be a little wary of him, but I think I understand what set him off that night. And I think that it was all just pent up, that's why I believe nothing will happen. I want to be able to trust him again. That means I can't runaway from him."

"I get it.. Kinda.."

"Like I said, you have to be in my position to see it."

"I guess... You're too good of a person, Hinata."

"Curse or blessing," she shrugged. "It's what I am."

He opened the front door for her and she trudged down the mini steps in front.

"I'm always home," he told her. "Well, I'm heading out to work right now, but afterwards, I'll be home."

"I'll be fine," she reassured him. "Thank you."

"It's nothing."

With one final look at each other, Neji took her travel bag from her and the two of them started down the path towards their own respective home.

"Hinata," started Neji.

"You don't have to say anything," she said. "It's still a little weird, but we'll talk when we get home."

Naruto watched the two of them walk away from the place. He then spotted Jiraiya, who was still snooping from his window. The old man waved at him, fully aware now that he was caught. Naruto rolled his eyes and went back inside. With the door closed behind him he looked around at his surroundings.

'It's really quiet in here,' he thought. 'And is it just me or did this place get bigger? And where's Neko?'

Despite the fact that he had only felt this way about the building once before, he shook it off and called out for the cat and then went to look for her.

xxx

The English class buzzed with conversation. They were only allowed a few minutes of freedom while their sensei was outside of the room, called up to the office for one urgent message or another.

Kiba leaned back in his chair. Balancing himself on the back legs. He was one of the two that weren't involved in any of the chatter going on around him. Instead of being social and participating in the minor chaos occurring on all his sides, he was too busy contemplating all that he had seen and heard the past two days here at school. Everything led to the inevitable conclusion that there would most likely be a romantic link between Naruto and Hinata.

He landed on all four legs of his chair with a hard thud and a low growl. He was thrown questioning glances from those closest to him as he rubbed his fingertips against his skull ferociously in an attempt to erase all previous thought.

The other person who wasn't taking advantage of the opportunity to gab about was Tenten. She was twisted in her seat. Facing Kiba and watching him in his current frantic state.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

He propped his elbow onto the wooden surface in front of him and rested his head against the palm facing up.

"You know damn well that there is," he said.

"What's on your mind is apparently on a lot of other people's," she told him. "I've been listening to what I can catch. They're the talk of the town right now. No one knows for sure though."

"This is complete bullshit," he grumbled. "If there was, they would have said something to us. Aren't we their friends? Don't we have a right to know?"

"We should I guess... Naruto's never been one to hide anything.. I don't think he would not have said anything."

"No," he said and raised his head from it's resting place. "They're hiding something."

Tenten tilted her head in confusion at the words. "How do you know?"

Kiba's eyes shifted from left to right before leaning in closer to the girl. "I was talking to Hinata earlier. in Language. I wasn't really asking her straight out, but I was trying to get some info about what happened with them over the weekend."

"And?" Her face showed her eagerness. If what she assumed was right...

"I got nothing. All she told me was that she was hanging around him over the weekend. When I asked what they did, she would say they were downtown with some guy from his work just going to random places. I tried asking what they talked about, and she would get all quiet."

"She didn't say anything else?"

Kiba shook his head. "I tried to get something out of her, but then something weird happened. She got a little defensive. Told me that it wasn't any of my business, that if Naruto wanted me to know he would have told me. I have no idea what that meant."

"She's acting a little like him," she said. "Do you think that just hanging around him for a few hours would do that to her?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I tried to talking to Neji, but he wouldn't say anything either. Have you noticed that he doesn't shadow her like he did before?"

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, I thought it was a little weird."

"I know, huh? I mean, me and Neji are like the same with her."

Tenten's brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

Kiba shrugged again. "Just that, we've always looked out for her. Made sure she's always okay. But now I don't know what the hell is going on. It's like.. I don't know. But I don't really like it."

"Why's that?" She knew, whether or not he had ever said it aloud. Still, there's something from just knowing that the one admired is out of reach and actually hearing that they are out of reach from them themselves that makes a difference in how it's handled.

Kiba glanced nervously at her. "It's nothing."

"Just say it Kiba," she sighed. "I already know."

"You do?"

"More or less."

He searched her face for any trace of being hurt. "Tenten, I'm sorry."

Tenten hid her irritation at the apology. "It's nothing." Her voice betrayed nothing as well. "Just answer me something though."

"What is it?"

She looked him straight in they eye. She was through with beating around the bush . "Do you honestly want to be with her?"

Kiba was a bit surprised by the straight forward question. "Um, yeah I guess."

"You guess?" she questioned him with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean-"

"Because if you really wanted to," she cut him off. "I don't see why you wouldn't have done something about it sooner."

"Are you telling me that what I feel for her isn't real?"

"I'm not saying anything."

"It sure as hell sounds like you are."

Tenten blinked a few times before speaking again. "So what's your answer?"

"Yes," he said. "I do want to be with her."

Tenten held back her emotions. "Why?"

"Because I love her. I want to take care of her. I want her to be happy again."

"Well," she breathed in sharply. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she looks pretty happy right now. Or haven't you noticed?"

Kiba turned away from her. The truth was that he had noticed. Which was he didn't like about the situation the most. Whereas he was glad that she was smiling brightly again, a larger part of his being was angry and heartbroken at the fact that it wasn't because of him. Someone else helped her, and he had a very good guess at who that was. Although he wasn't completely sure at what level their relationship was, he couldn't help fearing the worst.

"Maybe you just took too long," she suggested. "Gave Naruto all the time in the world to just come around and sweep her off her feet. In any case, it's what she's wanted for so long anyway."

"There's no definite that he's with her," he said sharply.

"Is it just me or does this conversation keep going in circles," she sneered. "You know, this whole business is getting old. I think I'll just bring it up with her during the next hour and just tell her to announce it already."

"Shikamaru doesn't think anything's going on with them."

"Shikamaru could just be a little jealous," she shrugged. "I mean, he's in love with Naruto, come on.."

"He's not like that," Kiba defended. "He wouldn't say something like that just because he was in denial or something. It's Shikamaru."

"True," she said thoughtfully.

"And, you know, Naruto isn't someone who just does something if he think it'll hurt someone. If he was dating her he would have told Shikamaru for sure."

"Did you actually figure that out or did Shikamaru tell you that?"

"A little of both. He doesn't want to talk about it."

"Well it could just be because he doesn't find gossip interesting. Or-"

"Tenten, stop it!" he hissed. "You see me trying to come up with answer that doesn't end with them being with each other and it's like your pushing that possibility on me on purpose."

"Why do you love her, Kiba?" she asked. "Can you tell me that?"

"Why are you acting like such a bitch?"

"You can't answer me can you?" she laughed out.

"You didn't answer me either," he countered.

"Because you made me one," she told him.

"I'm sorry I don't feel that way about you, Tenten, but that doesn't make it my fault."

"Blame the heartbreaker, not the heartbroken."

The door slid open and a voice called out for both silence and attention. The two stared at each other intensely for the few moments before Tenten twisted around in her seat again and faced forward.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX

**Glossary**

And how!: To be concise, it means I agree. (you don't know how many times I've been asked "And how what?")  
Bump off: To kill.  
Earful: Enough.  
For crying out loud!: Used the same as today.  
High hat: A snob.  
Kid: Common term for any person.  
Lay off: Cut the crap.  
Put the ritz on: To do something with high style.

Sorry to those who have this on story alert. I don't know if you got four emails or something like that. I went back and deleted all of my previous "author's notes" and I'm not sure if alerts chapters that have been edited or what. My brother wouldn't shut up about them and after someone else voted in his poll that it wasn't fair of me to do that, I just said "Whatever." and deleted them. So this is the last time I'll be speaking during the fic. If anything important comes up then I'm just going to post it in the profile, so check that out every now and then. So this being the last time I'll write anything at the end of a chapter, I have three things I want to do.

(I went back and edited all this since it doesn't really matter now anyway. For the most part though, I'm keeping most of the author's notes like when they were first posted.)

-Laith


	21. II, ix

xxx  
Scene IX: "And therefore is love said to be a child, Because in choice he is so oft beguil'd."  
xxx

Wednesday. Two days before all History prjects would be due and needed to be presented. It was for this reason that Sasuke found himself as a guest in the Hyuuga household once again. Nothing of great importance was being done to their assignment, their meeting today was really a finalization of everything. Who would be speaking when and what exactly, if there were to be any reformations to the backdrop Naruto designed and where, and a new idea was voted on.

The idea that Naruto had come up with some days ago, was that since Hinata was a girl (the other two boys wanted to hit him in his moment of idiocy) she should act as the role of a geisha, and while the presentation was underway, she would play her shamisen. In other words, she accent the visual aspect of their assignment. Though Hinata felt a bit unnerved by the idea, she was persuaded by the blonde and vowed to do her best.

The time passed with one thing and another, and before Sasuke noticed he was once again sitting at the dining table with not only his group, but with the head of the house once more. Sasuke sighed internally. The only difference this time was that he wasn't even given the privilege of sitting next to Hinata. This time, he was stuck with Neji and Naruto was the one to sit next to the only girl in the room.

'It was strange,' he thought. 'Before they sat down it looked like they were in some sort of silent argument between Neji and Naruto and Hinata was the one to end it all by sitting first.'

In any case, he shook it off for the moment and tuned back into the conversation. It seemed as though Naruto had just finished his rant about how orange was an unappreciated color which is why he always made sure to wear something of the hue.

"Have you ever considered adding more color to your wardrobe?" Neji asked him. "Or do you really like to dress in Halloween colors?"

"I have stuff that isn't black or orange," argued Naruto. "But were you not listening to what I was just saying?"

"You were talking about orange," Neji argued back. "You said nothing about black."

'How did this conversation start anyway?' Sasuke wondered.

Incidentally, Hiashi was thinking the same thing. Though, in all retrospect he was the one that allowed the conversation to steer this way after coming to the conclusion that if he was to see what this boy's relationship with his daughter was, the possibility of it becoming more evident if he allowed the younger ones to take hold of topics for discussion. Thinking on it now, it probably wasn't a good choice to make.

Still, he was curious about the nature of their relationship. When he had come home Monday afternoon and was greeted by his daughter and nephew he noticed something was odd. Neji seemed more stiff, and Hinata was more relaxed. It was usually the other way around. And then today, before they had seated themselves, he saw the slight glares being sent back and forth between his nephew and the blonde. More curious though, was the way their silent battle ended. Hinata brushed her hand slightly against Naruto's and sat down, as though she was signifying who she would be sitting next to.

"Hey that's not fair," Naruto said, snapping Hiashi out of his thoughts for a moment. "I don't hear you going off on Hinata about why she only wears black and purple."

Instead of listening to Neji's defense, Hiashi's eyes focused on his daughter. There she sat, dressed in black capris and a black baseball shirt with purple sleeves and a butterfly design on the front in a lighter shade of violet. It then occurred to him that it had been awhile since he last saw her in an outfit that had no trace of black in it.

"I'll have you know Mr. Man," he heard the blonde say, "I wear black for the same reason she does."

"And what reason would that be?"

All of them jumped slightly in their seats at the sound of Hiashi's voice. It seemed as though they had forgotten there was an adult present. Naruto looked a bit uncomfortable. For the first time since the talking began, there was silence. He glanced at Hinata nervously. His expression clearly showed that he wasn't sure if he should answer or not. She looked at him with a small smile.

"Three reasons," Hinata began. "Mourn who we've lost."

"Mourn what we've lost," Naruto continued.

"And to never forget," they quoted simultaneously, "to live each day as if it were you're last. The next funeral you go to may very well be your own."

The atmosphere around the table settled into an awkard silence. It was brief, but still awkward nonetheless.

"Damn, Ciggy," said Naruto. "When did you get to be such a killjoy?"

"It's not like I like being a cynic," Hinata said. "But if I don't do it who else will?"

"Tell it to Sweeney, Kid, you ain't foolin' me here."

"Alright, you caught me. It was all Bootleg's idea."

"That Bootleg's a right mighty sap who's always on a toot, you shouldn't believe everything he tells you."

"And I should trust everything a milquetoast like you tell me, huh?"

"Tell me, Ciggy, do you really trust that drugstore cowboy?"

"Not really. He needs help, Angel."

"Ish kabibble."

"Well you should, he's your brother too."

"Not by blood, not by marriage, not by anything but a title I give him."

"You should honor that title."

"I don't gotta do anything I don't feel like."

"What kind of flapper are you?"

"One who just doesn't give a damn anymore."

"Obviously you still give a damn about me."

"'Cause you're the only one that needs to be given a damn about."

They stopped talking and just looked at each other rather thoughtfully. It was quiet around the table. All movement had ceased for the small conversation that had just taken place in front of them. Then as abruptly as the silence settled, it was broken again by the sounds of Naruto and Hinata's laughter.

"You know it's getting bad if you're able to quote straight from the damn thing," Naruto choked out between laughs.

"You started it," Hinata replied with some difficulty. She was having issues with speaking and laughing at the same time.

"I didn't see you try to end it."

"I want to ask what that was just now," Neji said to them. "But I'm afraid of the risk."

"No risk, no fun," Naruto said in a sing song voice while wagging his finger in front of Neji's face.

Neji slapped Naruto's hand away from him. "Get that finger out of my face."

This only led to more laughter from the them.

xxx

Sasuke could not help but to stop and witness Hinata running out of the front entrance towards both him and Naruto as they were leaving the estate. At first he had thought that she was going to stop in front of him and say something that was too important to wait until the next time they saw each other. And of course, he should have known better.

"Naruto!" She yelled out.

He didn't bother to hide his rolling eyes. He continued forward at a leisurely pace. Seemingly to not take any interest in whatever it was they were about to speak to each other about, but if anyone had taken notice, they would have seen that his pace was slower than normal.

"Are you sure that you wouldn't want a ride home?" he heard her ask the blonde. "It's already getting dark and it really wouldn't be a problem."

"Nah, it's fine really," the other replied. "I've walked home from here before."

"Well in any case, I hope you get home safe." She took one of his hand and pressed both of hers against it. "If you were to go to sleep for days, I would count the hours."

He raised his eyebrows at the feel of crushed paper against his palm. "You're so weird," he laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," she nodded. "You too, Sasuke."

He paused in his step and turned his head to her smiling face. Although it was something that he had wanted to hear from her, he said nothing and made no move indicating that he had heard her.

"Hey bastard, she said something to you and you're not going to say anything back," Naruto called out to him.

Sasuke paid no heed to him. Instead, he continued onwards. Itachi was still waiting at the gate for him.

"Hey!"Naruto yelled. "It's bad enough you act like an ass to me but Hinata doesn't need to put up with your shit!"

"Naruto, it's okay," she said. "It's just the way Sasuke is."

_It's just the way Sasuke is..._

The words ran through his mind more than he could count in the span of opening the passenger door and shutting behind him.

"Have fun?" Itachi greeted his younger sibling.

Sasuke made no reply. His mind was in a frenzy. 'What the hell does she mean by that? It's just the way I am. And how should I be? Like Naruto? Like I'll ever let myself be that much of a disgrace. What the hell does she find so appealing about that piece of garbage? Just the way I am. Hn... I should treat her a little better though. Show her that I'm far much of a better person that Naruto could ever be...'

Itachi turned the key in the ignition and adjusted his rear view mirror, spotting and recognizing Naruto right away as he strolled down the opposite direction.

"There's that kid again," he muttered to himself, not expecting Sasuke to respond to what he had said.

"You know him?" he half asked, not really caring one way or another.

"He's the one I hit with the car," he said. "You were in the car at the time."

Sasuke thought back. 'That's right. When Itachi dropped me off in front of the school gates he ran into the car.'

"It's alright though," Itachi went on. "I paid him back for it in a way last Sunday."

Sasuke's interest peaked. "What do you mean?"

Itachi glanced at his younger brother with an odd look. "You actually want to have a conversation with me?"

"I'll stop if it bothers you."

"No, that's not what I meant. But, yes, I saw him at this club during lunchtime on Sunday. He was with two other people and I paid for their lunch."

'Always paying someone off...' A thought then occurred to him.

"Who was he with?" he questioned casually.

"One of them was a boy," Itachi answered. "I didn't know who he was and I can't really remember his name. And the other was Hiashi's daughter."

"Hinata?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's her name," he said, not noticing the exclamation in Sasuke's tone.

"What was he doing with her?" he asked himself.

"From what Deidara told me he overheard, she was acting as a model that day. And that it was an undercover date, I don't know what he was going on about."

Sasuke said nothing. He focused his eyes straight ahead, his mind losing itself in thought once more.

'An undercover date? It can't possibly be true what everyone has been saying. Then again, what did I just see back there? It's clear to me that something had changed with them towards each other. But it's only recent. They weren't like that last week. So is the undercover date theory true?! Of course not, it's Deidara I'm talking about, he says anything just so people will focus on him... It can't be that I've missed my chance already, that annoying little loudmouth would have let it be known. There's no reason for him to hold it in secret... Unless, they're afraid of her father's disapproval. That is possible. No matter, I will get to the bottom of this, and if it is something that they're trying to hide, maybe a little exposure will unsettle it.'

xxx

Thrusday. The bell rang, dismissing the students from their fifth period classes. Sasuke made no move to leave though. While everyone around him was packing their belongings and leaving the library for lunch, he stayed in his seat, appearing to be interested in a book that he had found during the hour. The truth of the matter was that he overheard Hinata tell both Naruto and Neji that she had a library fine that needed to be paid off. He heard that she would be there during their lunch break, since she wasn't able to during their regular break.

He sat near the entrance, a bit off from the front desk, darting his eyes back and forth every now and then for a sign of her.

A good fifteen minutes or so passed into the break before she appeared. She walked straight passed him, not really noticing anything, making her way straight for the front desk where a small exchange was made between herself and the librarian.

"Hinata," he called out before she had the chance to walk past him again.

Hinata stopped and looked up to where she heard her name being called. Sasuke stood from his seat so that she would spot him. Once she did, she smiled and walked over to him.

"Sasuke," she greeted, "What brings you here?"

"Nothing in particular," he answered. "Just the call of literature."

She laughed prettily. "I wouldn't know anything about that. Naruto would though."

Sasuke almost laughed at the idea. "Naruto? A literate?"

"Yes, I know he may not look it, but he is well read. Well, if it wasn't for his brother packing their home full of books then I suppose he wouldn't be."

"He has a brother?"

Her smile faltered a little. "Had," she said. "Though I suppose, in a symbolic way, he still does. One of the many things he's told me."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Sasuke confessed to her. "Why don't you sit down with me? We haven't really spoken to each other in a while."

Hinata chewed at her bottom lip a bit. "I don't know.. I'm supposed to meet Naruto upstairs after I paid off this fine I had.. But, you're right. We haven't really talked in awhile. He can wait for a few minutes."

He almost beamed out smiling watching her take seat close to his own.

"What was it you wanted to ask me?" she questioned.

"You haven't heard any of the rumors going around have you?" he in turn asked her.

"What rumors?" she asked honestly.

"The ones about you and Naruto." He couldn't really understand how she couldn't have heard any of them. They were everywhere.

"No," she shook her head. "Wh-what are they saying?"

"That you two are dating," he answered bluntly. "And that you're both trying to hide it from the general public."

"What?!" she yelped, earning a harsh "shush" from the librarian. Her entire face burned red as soon as she heard what everyone had been saying. She shook her head violently. "No, that's.. that's not true. We're not... dating." She thought she could faint at the very idea.

"It's not unusual for everyone to be saying this," Sasuke said.

"Why's that?" She was curious to know.

"Well, haven't you noticed that you two are acting differently with each other since this week started?" he asked her. "And you're with him constantly, just last week it was always Neji you were around. People started coming up with theories on why."

Hinata shook her head again. "We're not... dating." She put her face into her hands. "It's so weird to say that word now," she said muffled.

"If you're not dating him," Sasuke began, "then why the sudden change?"

She moved her hands away and placed them onto her lap. She looked down upon them while speaking. "It's kind of a long story." She then looked at him. "But it's completely innocent I can tell you that."

She then stood. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but I really should go."

He hid the disappoinment from his face. "Are you sure you're not dating?" he asked half teasingly. "Seems like you're in a rush to get to him."

The blush on her face that started to fade away grew just a bit darker. She shook her head again. "No.. In any case, if we were, I don't think I would have been able to keep it secret. I would've been so happy, that I probably would have just told everyone."

He was a little shocked to hear that confession. He wasn't even able to recover and stop her for some more questions in time. With a quick farewell she left the library and made her way up the side staircase to the rooftop. Up to Naruto.

Sasuke sat fuming in his chair. He had heard what he wanted, but was still left unsatisfied. To him, he felt like he had uncovered an answer only to be left with more questions. And there was the matter of their newly found closeness. That could prove dangerous ot him. He needed a way to break the two of them apart so that he would be able to move in.

xxx

The reason for Temari's approach was completely selfish. She was aware of that, but to her it didn't matter. She was a little relieved at the whole Shikamaru thing. Now she knew that it wasn't anything on her part that was unappealing. But at the same time, she was also very angry. And the source of her anger was on a blonde boy named Naruto.

Temari has been known for her violent and sometimes fatal logic. Not to mention it was mostly biased. The way she saw it, this whole Shikamaru coming out of the closet thing, was all the work of one Uzumaki Naruto. Which led to her conclusion of something must be done to the boy as a reparation for her mass love sufferage. Something along the lines of being hurt physically extremely badly.

Violent, biased, and possibly fatal.

The more she pondered the subject though, the more meaningless torture lost interest.

'No,' she had thought. 'This calls for something a little more drastic. After all, for what I've been put through, a little revenge is just I would think.'

Violet, biased, and definitely fatal.

'But I can't do anything,' her mind continued to think. 'I got away with it last time, but just barely. No.. I need a pawn.'

And that's when she saw Sasuke, looking a bit defeated and in need of assistance. If Temari didn't know better, she would've sworn that his expression looked similar to the one she wore before discovering Shikamaru batted for the other team. Which meant one thing. Right now he was vulnerable and possibly so love stricken that he would do anything to get the one he wanted. And if what she had been hearing around school was right, then there could possibly be no objections on his part. In other words, he would make a perfect pawn for her revenge.

She pulled her wallet from her school bag and took out what appeared to be a busniess card.

'Guess what Gaara.. I might have just found you a client.'

And with that final thought, she walked straight up to Sasuke in a strictly professional manner and presented her proposal.

xxx

Friday. Sasuke sat at a table that was a little more off from everyone else in the library. It wasn't as secluded as the table Naruto nested at, but it kept him away from others enough. In front of him lay two pieces of folded paper. He was a little afraid to open them and read what was inside. It was bad enough that he had taken them from her, but to read them would be an invasion of her privacy.

But, considering what he had seen only an hour ago, he felt it was his duty to see what was going on under his nose.

Their History presentation had been more than a success. Hinata dressed as a geisha and performing while presenting scored them points that were higher than the ones available on the originality portion of their score sheet. Before the bell had rung signaling their dismissal from their third class of the day, she had come up to Sasuke, asking him if it would have been to much trouble for him to take her things for her to their Language class. She wanted to change as quickly as she could but was afraid of leaving her things behind like she had done when first changing from her uniform to her kimono.

Of course it was no trouble for him. In fact helping her out was welcomed. It was only his pleasure to show her that there was not only one side of this Uchiha. Nothing but warmth filled him when seeing her smile to his agreement. And of course, that feeling was immediately quenched when he saw her place a folded piece of paper on Naruto's desk without a word before leaving. And the blonde picked it up and pocketed it without a word as well, acting as though it was a normal everyday thing.

It had only become an everyday thing since that week had started, and that aggitated the raven haired boy.

Still, he took her belongings to their fourth period class. He hung the bag from the hook on the side of the desk and placed the binder on top. Before he walked back to his own, he saw them in a cellophane pocket on the front of it. Two folded sheets of paper with her name on them and Naruto's name labeled after "_From_"A quick glance around the room showed that there were still few students inside, and Kurenai-sensei was preoccupied with the blackboard. He snatched the two notes before he was spotted and made it to his seat. Throughout the entire hour he watched Hinata, waiting for the moment she would discover something missing and trace it back to him. He let out a relieved breath when the bell rang.

All that led to the moment he was in now. Before he could second think the whole thing again, he unfolded the first paper and carefully read the contents inside.

_"The world is quiet here."_

_So anyway I'll make this quick. The bell's about to ring. I wanted to ask you a question about the stats homework. Don't get me wrong about it 'cause it's obvious I know a little more with the subject but you know more about dealing with numbers. At least that's what I think about you. Anyway I want to meet with you after school's out but if you can't meet me today maybe sometime or other I can study with you. Maybe on some level you can feel how I do about the upcoming test. It's almost like Asuma is making it harder for us and wants us skating around for answers. Or maybe I'm just paranoid because of after that one thing that happened. You know right? Before school? But anyway I am going off on random things I want to know if you'll help me out. You don't have to. Just thought we could make a study group and have join us. Though if you would rather just hang around with me I wouldn't have a problem with it. Oh the bell's ringing. Later!_

'This doesn't make any sense,' he thought. 'How the hell could he know the subject but not be good with numbers? Then again, this is Naruto.'

He pushed the paper to the side and took a look at the other one he was able to grab from her notebook. The date at the top made it clear that it was written before the last one.

_"The world is quiet here."_

_Don't know why I hear a ringing. I didn't do the homework Kakashi sensei gave out but I liked the short story we had to read. It was about having a problem with something and stuff. Kind of like what you were saying in class the other day. How people should stay and not give into pressure. Or did I say that? For whatever it's worth I kinda read it over the weekend.Then again a short story isn't supposed to last long. Kind of defeats the purpose. The story I mean the purpose of a short story. It really was good. I kind of wish it could have been a book or something kinda like it. I was a good read I hadn't had in ages. Lasted me awhile. But I make it last like that much. Longer would have been better. I think the ringing was just my ear or something. It's gone now. Later!_

'Same quote at the top.. and makes about as much sense as the last one. Why would he waste paper speaking about an assignment that no doubtfully she had as well? Both of them share their redundancy. I know Naruto is one to repeat things, but this is a little too much...'

He picked the other sheet up and studied it. 'There's something more to these. I know it.'

Suddenly, Kakashi's face appeared in his head, telling him to look underneath the underneath.

Sasuke shook his head, getting rid of the teacher in his mind and began to study the notes in front of him more intently. The first thing that he noted was the quote that Naruto wrote down before actually writing the note. And at the beginning and ending of each entry he mentioned some sort of ringing. Other than that though, he couldn't seem to figure out what it was Naruto was telling her. It was obvious to him the the content wasn't the intended message. All of it was trivial and all around unimportant.

Just then, something occurred to him.

'Why does he use contractions only some of the time? It's like he's trying to use as many words as he can in some places and in other places, it's like he tries to limit the word count. And right here, he doesn't mention who would join them for a study group in Stats. This has to do with that quote, I need to find out where it comes from and what it means.'

Sasuke stood from his seat and collected his things. He moved to the computer area where there were already some students, typing away at a report that would be due soon or researching for an assignment that was handed out just that day. For whatever reason they were there, Sasuke chose a seat that was off from any of them and left him a bit closed off. He placed his student identification card in the holder above the monitor, showing the sticker on the front that made it clear he had permission for anything involving Internet. he clicked onto the first search engine that was in they drop box and waited for the page to load.

As soon as the page was up, he typed in the words faster than ever. As soon as he hit enter, several results showed up. The first link led to an article on Wikipedia, providing information on a rather well known children's book. He scanned the beginning, only taking his time to read when a secret organization was mentioned and a code they had used. After reading that, he quickly skimmed down to the section where there were more details on the organization.

Their motto, that was the quote Naruto used at the beginning of each note. Sasuke figured that the quote's purpose was so that Hinata would know that there was another message within the note given to her. He read on, finding that the code used was called the Sebald Code. The secret message began when a ringing was mentioned, and ended the same way. After every ten words there was one word of the real message.

'No wonder the writing sounded off,' he thought. 'Idiot was trying to fill in ten blanks. How hard could that be?'

With this information, Sasuke took out a pen and began decoding the notes. It took him little time. The first one that he read, the one discussing their Stats class, all it mentioned was going skating after school and whether or not she wanted to tag along. Nothing big. He quickly decoded the one written previously. To say the least, his heart skipped a beat.

_I liked having you stay for the weekend. Kind of wish it lasted longer._

'What the hell?!' his mind yelled. 'She was at his house the entire weekend?! As in overnight staying? Why?! Oh no... what if they... No, calm down Sasuke, Hinata isn't like that. But why else would Naruto want her around longer for?'

He repressed the urge to stride right over to the blonde and beat him to a pulp based on his logic only. There was no proof that anything had happened, it was all in his head for now.

'This explains a lot though. Why they've been acting differently with each other. What if everyone's right? Everything that I've been hearing... Are they really dating. No. Hinata told me they weren't. She even said that if they were she wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret. If they're not dating though, then for what purpose would he want her at his house longer then?'

His eyes widened. 'No.. Is he actually feeling something for her now? Wait, he said "kind of", not indicating whether or not he wanted it to last longer. Damn, he could be sitting on the fence. That's not good. I need to do something.'

Unconsciously, his hand travelled into his blazer pocket. His fingers brushed against the card that he had forgotten about. The one Temari had given him only yesterday. He realized then and there how easy it would be if Naruto was out of the picture all together.

He shook his head. 'No. I'm not that desperate. I can come up with something on my own.' He pulled the stiff piece of paper out and looked at it interestingly. 'Though.. A bit of insurance can't really hurt.. me anyway.'

At the other side of the library, Naruto felt a cold chill go down his spine. He paused in writing a respone to Hinata's message, put his pen down, and stood up, closing the open window behind him. He then sat back down, feeling as though his problem had just been relieved.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX

**Glossary**

Drugstore Cowboy:A man who loiter in public areas trying to pick up women.  
Ish Kabibble: A retort meaning "I should care?"  
Killjoy: A solemn person.  
Milquetoast: A very timid and shy person.  
On a toot: On a drinking binge.  
Tell it to Sweeney: Meaning, "Tell it to someone who'll believe it."

A/N: Hello there. So a deal was made, I get a few lines at the end, and my beta gets a few lines at the end. As long as neither one of us say anything that pisses off the other, this could work... possibly for the next couple of chapters. So anywho, I didn't know L.O.V.E. was a song, and I didn't know that it was one by Ashlee Simpson. When I found out I was kinda, "...oh...". If you like Ashlee Simpson, good for you. I.. it's just not my cup of tea. So no, I didn't name the fic after the song. Before I go into how the fic was named, let me just say something. I got a rather angry PM about how I said I was anti-PETA. Now, I don't really care how people see me, it's just when they call me a hypocrite that I get just a bit pissed off. Just because I said I was anti-PETA, doesn't mean that I'm for animal cruelty. It's not the animals I'm against, it's just the organization itself. I have issues with PETA people, but like I said before, it's a rather long story and I don't want to get into it for that reason and it just angers me.

beta's note: damn laith you said a couple of lines not a half a page.. (cough) so... i know laith doesn't like to pimp out her fic.. but i do. so! review if you love this fic and support the author writing it! show this world that this fic kicks ass with a review! oh! and there's a new poll up on the profile so you should go and vote :D but if you're gonna be fair then you're gonna have to at least read some of the other author's fics. and when you read mine you can review me! that's right i'm pimpin myself out in other people fics.. cause i'm a pimp like that. a pimp named hiashi! (laughs)


	22. II, x

xxx  
Scene X: "...and truly in my youth I suffered much extremely for love; very near this."  
xxx

Her life had become part of a routine schedule. On Mondays, new post on the websites would be made. Tuesdays were the days were replies would come in and she in turn would make contact in an instant. Wednesdays were the days when all of the final arrangements were made: when, where, and how much she would be receiving for her time. Thursdays were more or less days that were used to make sure that she wouldn't back down from their agreement. These were usually from the men she would be out with on Friday. Then of course, after all homework was completed and there was nothing in the way, Friday through Sunday were the days Tenten would come into contact with the men she had been speaking to via Internet.

What she started not so long ago, felt as though she had been doing for years.

Though she had no real reason to keep this up, it was really her way of coping with the fact that no matter what it was that she did, it was clear to her that Kiba wouldn't love her the way she did him.

Alll of these dates, all of these men that she used for materialism, they were all part of a play in her head. Each one that bought her dinner, she would replace all of them with Kiba. At the karaoke bars, it wasn't some middle-aged man she was singing with, it was Kiba. Everyone that she went out with was replaced with Kiba's face, because when she realized the sad truth, it was the only way she could cope with the rejection.

And if she was getting paid this much to sit around and look pretty, why not keep going with it?

Currently, she was sitting in one of the karaoke booths with a man of fifty or so. What his name was, she couldn't really remember, or care for that matter.

She sang along with him, pretending in her mind, and on the outside it looked like everything was right in the world for her.

She paid no attention to his arm slung around her shoulders.

In fact, she really wasn't paying attention to anything. Her head was in a state of oblivion and she was completely and wholly satisfied with that at the moment. But she snapped out of it once she realized there was a hand grabbing at her left breast.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped at him. She pushed him away, but he grabbed onto her shoulders, keeping her firmly in place.

"I just want a little feel," he said. "That's all. Nothing else. I'll give you 10,000 more. Just a little feel?"

The first thing that should have come to mind was "Run!", but instead it was the thought of squeezing a bit more money out of this guy for something as insignificant as feeling up her chest, didn't sound to bad.

"You're only going to touch my chest?" she asked him quietly. "And that's all?"

"Only a feel," he assured her.

Her resistance faltered, and so did his grip. He edge over on the couch closer to her and lifted her shirt up, smiling in delight at the sight of the bra she wore. He undid the clasp from behind to loosen it and lift it up and over her breasts.

Tenten inhaled sharply at the feel of the cold air hitting her exposed skin. She closed her eyes and imagined Kiba here, doing this to her instead of this man, it was all she could do to make all this a bit more bearable.

Her eyes snapped open once she felt a hand travel up her skirt.

"I said you could feel my chest," she told him, trying to push him away. "You can't go any further than that!"

"Please," he begged. "I won't do much. I'll just use my fingers. How does 20,000 sound?"

The red light and siren went off like crazy, all signs that she should get out of there were making themselves obvious to her. Instead though, she stayed in her current position.

"Only your fingers?" she asked him.

"Only my fingers," he promised.

'Fingers won't do anything to me,' she thought while he pulled her underwear down. 'I'll still be a virgin by the time this is over.'

One more time, her eyes closed, her face scrunched up at the odd sensation of him fingering her. He stuck one finger into her opening and she turned her head away.

'I'm getting so much out of this, so why not? It's not like I'm not doing anything wrong. I'll just go along with him, there's no point not to anyways.'

Which was exactly why around ten minutes later she found herself on the floor of the booth with a wad of money in her hand, sniffling with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," the man said. "I-I didn't know it was your first time."

He apologized one more time before leaving her.

'I got what I wanted,' she thought cynically. 'Exactly what I wanted.'

She sat there, able to feel his semen seeping out of her. She briefly wondered if there was a bathroom nearby where she would be able to clean herself up. More so though, her mind was focused on the pain she was still in and whether or not she would be able to stand and walk anywhere.

At that time, someone had opened the door to the booth.

"Fucking hell," the person said. "It smells like someone just fucked in here."

Tenten quickly wiped away any tears that were still in her eyes with the back of her hand and face the doorway. There she saw a woman with red hair frowning at her.

"Ya know there are hotels you can go to for a quick fuck, right?" she asked her.

Tenten nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I know." She stood up slowly, wincing in pain the entire time. "I just didn't know that I would need a room tonight."

The frown on the other's face disappeared. She walked over to Tenten.

"First time?" she asked in a more polite tone than before.

Tenten nodded.

"So how much you get for riding your first cock?"

Tenten handed the money over to her for an overview.

"Shit, you got fucked over. In both senses."

"I should go," Tenten said taking the notes back and picking her underwear up.

"Hold it," she said, grabbing onto Tenten's arm when she started for the door. "You do those shitty dating sites, huh?"

"Yeah," she answered. "What about it?"

"If you're gonna be doing shit like that, you're never gonna make any real money. Ever think of turning tricks full time?"

"I-I, no I haven't, why would I?"

"Well damn, I was just asking. It's not like you're a fucking virgin so I don't see what the big deal is. Let me tell you though, at my place where I work at, you're first time would have gotten you a shit load of money. A hell of a lot more that this shit right here." She motioned at the bills clasped in Tenten's hand.

"Where you work?" Tenten asked her. "Then you're a-"

"So what, I sell myself, big fucking deal. At least I'm hire up on the food chain than you fucking little kids playing around on dating sites."

"Anyway," she went on, "It's not like what you're doing is any different than me. Just 'cause you aren't on your fucking back taking in dick all the time, doesn't make you any better."

Tenten said nothing. She took in everything this person was telling her and mulling all of it in her head. She was right in her way, Tenten knew that somehow, all this dating and getting money for it was like selling herself. She's sold countless pairs of underwear and bras, it's wasn't like she was a virgin anymore, her life was in a pit of despair at the moment and the only thing she was filling it with now was money, this woman in front of her was offering her tons of it too.

"I.. I guess you're right," she said after awhile. "I-I suppose, I could look over the place you're talking about. See if I'm interested in it."

The red head raised her eyebrow. "No shit? Alright, I'll take you over. What's your name?"

"Tenten."

"Tenten then. Name's Tayuya."

She let go of her and walked out of the room.

"What the fuck are you waiting for, let's get goin'?!" she yelled back. "I'm gonna be late and I don't fucking need to hear all that shit when I walk in the door."

Tenten looked around the room, making sure that she had everything and followed after.

xxx

There are two problems with having a text message conversation. One, it involves using a cell phone, and those in general are just a problem all together. Two, it's extremely nerve wracking.

Misunderstandings often occur during text message conversation because one of the two talking would use sarcasm and the other would take it literally, thus causing a small blow to their relationship. Then there's the more common anxiety attack after sending a message out and then worrying if it will be taken the right way or not. And of course, the waiting. The waiting period during an extremely important text message conversation is a long stretch of time filled with endless stress for the one anticipating a reply.

Even though Chouji had had just sent out his message to Ino only three seconds ago, already it felt like years had gone by.

'She's online,' he thought to himself while checking his friends list once more and spotting the symbol next to Ino's name. 'Why is it taking her so long?'

Then finally, what seemed an eternity to him, the phone in his hand vibrated, saying that he had a new text message.

With a nervous tremble, he clicked the view button and read the message slowly.

_I feel more like staying in today. Sakura's coming over soon. Sorry. Maybe next time I can go out with you and the guys._

Chouji resisted the urge to smash the phone in his palm.

'She still thinks I'm talking about going out in a group. Am I not being forward enough?'

He didn't answer his own question. The train had come to the tunnel opening and the doors opened. Chouji stood from his seat and exiting onto the platform and making his way for the steps leading to the surface.

He took a more leisurely pace towards his destination. The packed sidewalks and the feeling of numerous people that were out for the night was a great comfort to him. He felt as though he had nothing to hide, that he was just another face in the crowd to the many around him.

"Hey there," Kankuro greeted him with a small wave and a smile as soon as he was within earshot.

''Looking good,'' Kankuro commented. ''A big difference from when you started using this stuff."

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Chouji said with a sheepish smile.

"So why you back here?" Kankuro asked. "I thought you said you were going to quit after you had lost the weight you wanted."

"Well, yeah, I said that. But I was thinking, I should think more long term. I don't want the weight to come back so quickly."

Kankuro's smile grew. "That's some good thinking. Pretty logical and stuff like that."

"Well, made sense to me, y'know?"

"No, no, I understand you completely. And it does make sense. But hey, if you want to cut back on it some, 'cause I know speed can be short lived, you should try something else."

"Something else?" Chouji repeated unsurely. "I don't know, I feel fine with just speed."

"I hear ya, I hear ya. But this stuff is speed," Kankuro told him. "It's just like a higher form. More or less the same thing, but the effect lasts longer."

"What is it?" he asked him.

Kankuro pulled out a sheet of what looked like ordinary stamps. "It's called LSD."

Chouji took the sheet and looked upon it questioningly.

"They're stamps," he said.

"They look like stamps," Kankuro corrected. "But the back is laced with it. Just slip it on the tongue and you're good to go."

"How much?"

"Normally, the price goes around 100,000, but for you my friend, I'll sell it for 60,000."

"That's a lot of money," Chouji said, sounding a bit defeated. "But I guess it's better if I cut down on the intake."

"Much better," Kankuro agreed, taking the money from his customer.

xxx

It was the first time in days since Sai had some free time to himself. After coming home from a half day at work, he was pleased to find that he was home alone. The perfect time to transform the bathroom into a red room.

It was one of those many things that his mother like to pick at him about. She couldn't understand why her son didn't simply go to one of the many provided shops that develop film for the person in need of developing. Of course she wouldn't, she wasn't an artist.

For the time being though, let getting sidetracked be pushed to the side and return to the matter at hand. Sai was in his makeshift red room, developing the photos that he had taken that last Sunday with Hinata as his model.

Majority of the photographs were already hung above the bathtub on a clothesline, hung to dry. Those that weren't, were either already put away in safekeeping or still submerged underwater. Those that were still below the water were of the same photo. The very last photo he had taken that day. He saved these for last in particular, his suspicions on the outcome already anticipated, but still, it was a suspenseful moment.

His eyes focused on the black square, waiting for the picture to become clear. When it did, he let out a small "hn" along with a quick small smile.

"I knew it," he muttered, lifting the picture up and looking at it more closely.

"What to do about it, though," he spoke to himself. "I suppose I should tell Naruto about this. Hm... I know. If he asks me about them, I'll tell him. And even show him while I'm at it. If he doesn't though, then he can figure it out himself."

Content with his decision, he took them up one by one and hung them on the line to dry.

xxx

"Everything around school is getting a lot more weird."

Ino's eyebrows furrowed at the statement made by her pink headed friend. She turned off the television with a click of the remote and looked at her.

"Maybe not weird," Sakura went on. "But something's changing. Like.. I don't know how to explain it. It's as if all of a sudden, everything was just, completely disrupted. Turning everything normal into chaos."

"I don't follow," Ino confessed.

Sakura stood up from the sofa and crossed the living room floor. She pivoted back and walked until she was about three steps away from the blonde.

"I don't like what's going on," she said. "Things are completely out of order and people are acting differently."

"Is this about the whole Naruto/Hinata thing?" Ino asked.

"Not only that," she answered. "A lot of other things are loopy too."

"Loopy?"

"Just listen. First, Tenten's really into this Enjo Kosai thing ever since Temari told us about it. We haven't seen her outside of school since we went over there for an explanation."

"Maybe she just really likes the money," Ino told her. "I mean, we got paid tons for only two dates. Easy money and for no work really."

"And then Shikamaru just comes out of the closet and announces to everyone he's in love with Naruto."

"About time, come on Sakura, you could kind of see that coming. And in his defense, it was Naruto who told everyone he was in love with him."

"Chouji's shedding weight like nothing. Have you seen him?"

"Yeah, I have... You don't think he's sick do you? I noticed he hasn't been eating like he usually does."

"I don't know," she sighed. "I don't think so, he would have said something. He seems fine to me. Anyway, there's that and then the whole Naruto/Hinata thing started."

"Noticed how you let your attempted suicide out of the listing."

Sakura's eyes narrowed if only a little. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sakura," she began but was instantly cut off.

"Shut up and listen. Hinata and Naruto are with each other constantly, Neji hasn't been around for awhile, and she's acting just, not very Hinata-like. Which leads to Sasuke not being very Sasuke-like."

Ino rolled her eyes behind closed lids. 'Here we go, one long Sasuke filled talk.'

Sakura started pacing in front of the seated girl. Her mind frantically trying to string her thoughts together in a logical order so that what she was about to say would come out clearly.

"Ever since Monday, ever since those rumors about those two started, he's been acting differently."

"And you've noticed all this?" Ino asked with a touch of sarcasm.

"Are you going to hear me out?" She even went as far as to glare at her. Ino nodded meekly. Sakura sighed quickly and continued. "In Student Council he hasn't been focusing as much as he used to. He's even made a mistake in his calculations when speaking with the Treasurer. I see him zoning in and out during class time, and in Homeroom when I look back at him he's always glaring and it's always at Naruto. He's even skipped Track to come back to Homeroom. Usually when I speak to him, he gives me some sort of acknowledgment, but he hasn't at all for the past couple o' days. Sometimes I even think I see him lose that cool demeanor of his. I don't know what's going on."

Throughout all this, Sakura paced back and forth, even after she was well done with talking. Ino looked at her helplessly. What the girl in front of her had just told her made her believe in her suspicions all the more. The truth was, she had seen it as well. Though not as much, but still enough to make her want to investigate a little more, not for herself, but more for Sakura's benefit.

First, she had compared Sasuke's behavior to some of the other guys she knew, and found that it was somewhat similar to how Kiba was acting this whole week. Right off the bat, Ino knew Kiba was acting this way because he liked Hinata and was afraid of losing her to Naruto.

Second, she followed him around during their break period in order to get a better idea about why he was acting this way. If it was indeed similar to Kiba's behavior, why was it so? And if it was because he was afraid of losing someone, who? Common sense told her it was the Naruto/Hinata thing, it was the only scandal going on at the time, but she had quickly pushed that aside. Then, she saw it.

Sasuke had practically blown up at a passing student for slightly bumping into him. A violent side she had never seen before. She even stiffened and dared not to even make eye contact as he passed by her in the hallway. The aura around him at the time was so dark that she didn't even make attempts to even breath. Quickly, she raced to the spot he was standing just before his rage episode started. There she saw outside the window, under a tree, Hinata sat with her back pressed against the trunk, Naruto laying on his back with his head in her lap, reading from a book and her smiling at his every word.

Ino looked down the hallway, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. She then looked back at the two below her. She couldn't fight down the feeling that she had just discovered the source of his hostility.

Then it was Thursday, she had seen Temari make her approach to the boy. Quickly and quietly she made her way closer to the two, not really being able to hear what they were talking about.

"To get rid of your rival," she heard Temari say.

She saw Sasuke look as emotionless as ever and say something that seemed to have been a disagreement about what she had just said. But still, Temari waved her hand nonchalant and motioned that he should keep the card she gave him anyway. Without thinking about it, Sasuke pocketed it and left the other girl waving at him as he walked away.

While with Shino the same day in the library, she overheard him and Hinata speaking at one of the tables. She pracitically memorized every word and went back to Shino with what she had just heard. She asked him his opinion only to get a shrug and a "He probably likes her." from him. Though she probably should have known he wouldn't have cared.

'But should I tell her all this,' she thought while looking at Sakura who was still pacing in front of her. 'What if it's too much for her? But to let her go on as though she might actually have a chance, is pretty messed up to. Come on Ino, it's time to do the friend thing.'

"Sakura," she called out sternly.

Sakura stopped pacing and faced her friend. Questions of "What is it?" making it's presence known on her face.

Ino chewed on her bottom lip before saying anything. Finally she was able to speak. "I think I know why he's acting not Sasuke-like."

"You do?" she asked excitedly.

Ino looked unsure about whether or not she should voice her opinions. In her mind though, she came to the conclusion that she should know about everything now and not get hurt if she ever found out about it later.

"I think he's jealous at Naruto and Hinata's relationship," she said quickly. "I think he likes her."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ino, stop making up things."

"I'm not making it up," she defended. "I've seen him too and I heard him talk with Hinata and when I told Shino about it, even he said it sounded like he likes her."

Sakura started pacing again. "That's impossible and you know it is. Just because he started acting weird when this week started, and he's been glaring at Naruto a lot, and actually asked about a rumor or two, and stole some stuff from her binder when I was passing his Language class on my way to English..."

Sakura paused in mid-step, her pacing ceasing all together while her mind blanked out in a mild shock from the words she had just spoken. Slowly, she turned herself in order to face Ino from her standing position.

"You don't really think," she spoke quietly, "that he actually is interested in her like that?"

Ino didn't say anything. In all truth she didn't know what to tell her and settled for a small shrug. Hoping that it wouldn't cause her to go into even more of a frenzy.

Sakura stared at her. Unsure what to think now. Ino hadn't reassured her in anyway.

"There's no way," she said while shaking her head slightly. "I mean, I'm the perfect match for him, it's obvious. And no one loves him like I do. There's no way, my mind's just going a little haywire from all this stress."

Ino frowned. "Y'know Sakura, maybe this whole Sasuke thing should end. I mean, I know you say you love him, and I believe you, you've made it clear to me that you do, but still, I mean, doesn't the whole he-has-no-interest tell you he doesn't feel the same way. Do you honestly think you should devote yourself to that kind of person? Not only that but, he rejected you straight out cold when you told him how you really felt. Is all this stressing out over him worth it?"

"How could you ask me that?" Sakura demanded. "Of course it's worth it, everything that has to do with Sasuke is worth it. I would do anything for him to prove my love." She was about to go on when a thought hit her suddenly. "Why are you saying all this Ino? I thought you loved Sasuke as much as I did... I know what this is about, you want me to back down so that you can move in on Sasuke."

"Sakura, that's not-"

"Well I caught on to you and your little plan to throw me off. I'm not back down and you're just going to have to go back to trying to take him away from me!"

"Sakura he isn't yours! He's never been yours! He doesn't care about you!" Ino stood up yelling the entire time. "And if you want to know the honest to God truth, I gave up on Sasuke a long time ago!"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"Yeah...," she said with her eyes turned downward. "I gave up on him, like, I don't know, halfway through our second year. I said forget it, it's not worth it and I called it quits. The only reason why I kept playing along was because you were so into him still that it was practically the only thing you ever talked about. I thought that, if I wasn't like you, then whatever friendship we had was just going to fall apart."

Sakura eyed her warily. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying," she growled, a detection of anger in her voice. "I don't give a damn about Uchiha. I think he's an emotionless stuck up who's constantly in a bad mood with no personality and it's because of that that he doesn't socialize. And frankly I think his perfection is just a little creepy."

Sakura's breath hitched. Those words again. The same ones she remembered Tenten saying. Perfection being unnatural. Perfection being creepy. Without a second though, Sakura picked up her things and made her way for the front door.

"Sakura!" Ino called out.

She followed her out of the room and into the entrance hall where Sakura pushed her feet into her shoes quickly and left without another word.

Ino sighed again and put her head into one of her hands. Completely at a loss about what to do now.

xxx

On Sunday morning, Shikamaru woke up with the feeling he should go over to Chouji's place and check up on him. Normally, whatever he thought so early in the day would be pushed aside for the favorable aspect of more sleep, but he couldn't shake off what his gut was tellling him to do. The more he tried to close his eyes again, the more he felt something was wrong.

Once he was dressed properly, he made his way out of his home and down the familiar road to his friend's.

He entered the gated off fence and tested the doorknob. It was unlocked. Again.

'Doesn't this family think about the danger of robbers or something?' he asked himself. 'We don't live in Canada, honestly.'

He entered the building and slipped off his shoes. He was about to call out Chouji's name when a crash sounded from upstairs followed by a curt yell. Shikamaru stole up the stairway and opened the door to Chouji's room. To say he was taken aback by the sight in front of him would have been an understatement.

Everything in the room was in a state of chaos. The mattress of his bed had been slit open, showing off the springs, clothes were thrown everywhere, along with several books, his bookcase was broken into pieces as well as his desk chair. His closet door had been torn down, everything inside spilling out.

The crash had been Chouji's computer falling to the floor. It was pushed off when the boy climbed onto the desk. And there was were Shikamaru found him, sitting on his desk, naked, trembling, and murmuring to himself.

As soon as he gathered himself, Shikamaru yelled out to him. "Chouji!"

Chouji stopped muttering to himself and turned his eyes over to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, you gotta help me," he said shakily. "They're everywhere. You gotta help me."

"Chouji what are you talking about?!" he asked him while picking himself over the strewn articles. "What's wrong?! What's going on?!"

"The bugs," Chouji answered him frightfully. "They're like-like maggots. They were coming out of my clothes and coming out of my skin and they were everywhere. Everywhere."

Shikamaru bent down to grab his blanket from the floor to cover up the boy with.

'It's a damn good thing I didn't fall back asleep,' he thought. 'What the hell got into him?'

He picked the blanket from the ground and gave it a shook before lifting it over his arms. While doing so, all of Chouji's illegal paraphernalia fell from the creases of the comforter. The sheet of LSD, the speed packets, even his pipe, all of it was there for Shikamaru's viewing.

Shikarmaru bent down and lifted the pipe up. In an instant he recognized the object in his hand. He turned to Chouji with widened eyes.

"Chouji?" he whispered. "I knew you were doing something, but I didn't think you'd go this far."

Shikamaru slightly stumbled backwards onto the ruined mattress. He stared at his friend who was coming down from his bad trip incredulously. This just made everything in his life just a bit more messier.

xxx

Naruto walked down the street towards the bookshop. He wore a smile the whole time. He couldn't wait. Today was the day the new volume of _Lost Souls_ came out. Today they would find out if Angel survived the crash and what exactly Fate's plan is to destroy Ciggy. And whether or not Bootleg will take a part of it.

'He better not,' he thought. 'That's low if he does. After everything Ciggy did for him. What an ass. Abandoning her like that.'

He made it to his destination and looked around. There was no sign of Hinata.

'I must have gotten here earlier than I thought.'

He shrugged and leaned against the brick wall. Ever since they found out that the book would be on sale today, Naruto and Hinata would talk about it nonstop. It was the only time he was on the phone for more than a few minutes. They must've been talking for more than a few hours at least. They had planned the whole thing. They agreed to meet each other in front of the store, then they would go inside and grab a copy each and making there way to the seats in the center of the building, quoting the last scene from memorization, and then read aloud to one another, loudly, the entire time, just to annoy bystanders.

It sounded like fun, and Naruto was looking forward to it fully.

He was waiting patiently for his cohort in crime to appear, when he spotted a familiar face approaching.

"Tenten!" he called out.

Tenten turned her head and saw him waving at her. She approached him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm meeting Hinata here," he told her. "New volume of LS comes out today and we're gonna read it in the store and talk really loud while doing it. And then we'll buy it 'cause it's not fair to the manga artist who coughs up blood while drawing it."

"Coughs up blood?"

"It's just something she said at the end of one of the volumes," he explained. "I don't know if it was a metaphor or something. Whatever. Why are you here?"

"No reason really," she answered. "I'm just going to work."

"You work around here?" he asked. "Lucky, I'm stuck in the business district and you get to play around downtown. Just like Kiba."

He didn't see her wince at his name.

"So where are you working?" he asked her. "That way Hinata and I can come bug you when we're done here."

"Ugh, I wish you two would just get married already," she said.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I'm getting kind of sick of seeing you two all lovey like with each other. You know it can get pretty nauseating to people around you. Just come out and say you guys are with each other and stop all the talking."

"What the hell are you talking about? Who's talking?"

"You have to be kidding me," she said. "How can you honestly not have heard what people around school are saying?"

"What? What are they saying? I'm I going to have to kick someone's ass?"

"Naruto, everyone thinks you guys are dating."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "What? We're not dating."

"Well you know, it sure as hell looks like you are. Why the hell do you think Kiba's been all stressed out lately."

"Because he's Kiba and does weird things for no reason," he answered.

"No, dumb ass, it's because he's freaking out over you two. He doesn't know whether or not what's going on with you two is real and it's pissing him off because he doesn't want to lose Hinata to you!"

"Kiba likes Hinata? What the hell..."

"Are you really that stupid? Of course he fucking loves her, he's been in love with her practically as long as she's been in love with you!"

"Wait wait what?" He wasn't sure whether or not what he heard was right. "What was the last part you said. Not the Kiba loves Hinata thing, the second part to that."

"As long as she's been in love with you?"

"What did you say?" he asked.

"What you didn't hear me?" she scoffed. "She fucking loves you. Out of her mind, head over heals, how else do you want me to say it. She has been ever since she fucking met you."

His mind couldn't really comprehend what he was hearing. "Wha?"

"I know you heard me so I'm not saying it again. I thought you knew about it already, aren't you all kissy face with her and everything. I didn't think she'd snog without saying how she felt first."

"Don't talk about her like that," he said. "I don't care what people are saying, but we're only friends."

"Are you? Think really hard before answering Naruto."

"Yeah. There's nothing going on with us. She loves me?"

Tenten laughed lightly. "I don't know how the hell you couldn't see it. Really I don't. And I don't believe you. There's no way that two people could suddenly be as close as you two like nothing."

He said nothing, his mind was slowly processing what he had just heard.

"Wow," Tenten said after getting a bit tired of the silence passing between them. "I think you actually are telling the truth. Hm. So, do you enjoy leading her on?"

"I'm not leading her on!" He yelled out, though suddenly looked as if he didn't know the answer himself. "... Am I?"

"Are you? Now you know the truth, think back on everything you two have done together and try and figure out if you did anything to do that." She walked past him with the full intent of leaving the conversation with the last word. She stopped though, and turned back to say one more thing. "That would really be a terrible thing to do. Toying with a girl's fragile heart. Especially with someone like Hinata. What did she ever do to deserve that? Other than love you unconditionally."

She left him then, alone with his thoughts.

'I'm not leading her on am I?' he couldn't help but ask himself. 'She loves me? Like, loves loves me? Damn, I even did a double word in my head... Stop it, this is serious. I don't think I've done anything to give her that I like her like that. At least I don't think I have. Damn, what if I did? How do I tell her that we're only friends? Wait, I don't even know if she thinks we could be more than friends. How do I find that out?! Relax Naruto, you just have to slip it in somehow that friends is all you two are and that's all you want.

'Is it? Yeah, that's all. I mean, I don't like her like that. Do I? No, I like Sakura, I-I-I... I don't know. No, I like Sakura, I have ever since we started High School. But Hinata's so much cooler, and she treats me better. Stop it Uzumaki, you're trying to stay friends with her because you didn't want to lead her on. You confused is only going to confuse her and... shit, what the hell?! All I wanted was the buy a manga today and read it with someone that takes it as serious as I do. Someone like Hinata. Because she takes everything I do as serious as... well as I do.'

Naruto shook his head violently. 'Fucking Tenten, I bet she did this just so that she could get out of telling me where she's working. Son of a biscuit eating Took, what the hell am I going to do when Hinata gets here? there's no way I can be around her without being awkward.'

It was at this moment in time that Hinata appeared. She called out his name and waved at him. Naruto, stood still, watching the girl approach. Caught between the indecision to stay still or run away.

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting," she said. "Neji wanted to tag along, but I wasn't sure if you wanted him around or not. Then he was lecturing me about how I should take a taser gun just in case something was going to happen, and I had to tell him that I would be fine, that it wasn't the first time I was going out without him. Then he asked me when exactly it was that I went out without him, then I had to calm him down because I told him that you took me to that club and he was in a frenzy over things that could have happened-"

"Hinata," he interrupted, "Um.. I actually can't do anything today, I forgot that I had to do this thing with the Perv and just came by to tell you that. So, I'm sorry, but I have to go!"

Then he ran, leaving Hinata behind with unanswered questions and a feeling as though it was her he was running away from.

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX

A/N: Ah! There was no slang in this chapter. -cry- I couldn't fit any in that's why. Anyway though, can you believe I actually finished this chapter Thursday morning? -pats back- I still didn't sleep last night though. I was playing Sims. -sweatdrop- It's addicting! Help me! . And in case anyone's wondering, I don't cough up blood. Just to let you know.

beta's note: don't have anything to say really. i can't pimp out the fic any more udner penalty of castration so...yeah... ten ten's a bitch now. shit why'd she have tell him for. it's just gonna make more things all (crazy hand motion). maybe i don't know. i'm like you guys now i have to wait til she writes a chapter to read it.


	23. II, xi

xxx  
Scene XI: "For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds: Lillies that fester smell far worse than weeds."  
xxx

The sunlight streaming in from the slits of the closed shutters high lighted the specks of dust floating freely about in the air. A few spiderwebs were scattered amongst the rafters above, their presence being known only by the dim light given off from the crackling light bulb that threaten to give out at any moment.

Everything being kept in here, from the janitorial tools lined up against the wall to the stacked pieces of broken furnishings, was covered in layers of dust and grime from all these years of abandonment. Apparently, that's all this old tool shed was good for nowadays. Housing in everything that was no longer of any use. There was no real need for it now that there was a better equipped structure nearer to the locker rooms.

Why exactly it was left at the edge of the school grounds instead of being torn down, Gaara did not know, nor did he really care for that matter. The only point that did, was that here was where he claimed his space, and as long as he was there, it always would be.

Those that were here before him didn't resist from giving it to him. Those that tried to take it away, didn't try a second time. And it was only through his generosity that he allowed his siblings to partake in his domain. That and the fact that he didn't really feel like rearranging everything to make more room.

"You should have done that at home," he drawled, eyeing his older brother sitting opposite from him.

Kankuro looked up from his worksheets and shrugged. "What else is lunch for if you don't do your homework during it?"

Gaara made no reply. He closed his eyes and leaned his back against the wall behind him. He closed his eyes and inhaled the faint smell of mildew the wooden panels gave off. Kankuro went back to the homework he had put off until just that very moment. They stayed that way, waiting.

Gaara opened his eyes only when a knock sounded from their doorway.

"Come on in," Kankuro called out.

The door opened, letting in a burst of sunshine that made them both squint and shield their eyes with their hands.

"Hey!" Temari greeted cheerfully while walking into the space.

"Hey yourself," said Kankuro. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," she said with a smile. "Hey Gaara, I've got someone who wants to talk with you."

Temari stepped to the side and motioned for whoever she had brought with her to step inside as she had not a moment ago. Sasuke stepped out of the sunlight and into the small structure. Temari then shut the wooden door behind them, encompassing the room into it's dim-lited existence.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the red head muttered. He caught Kankuro's eye. "Move!"

Kankuro gathered his papers together as quickly as possible and vacated his seat in front of the table. Temari then motioned for Sasuke to take the makeshift chair left for him. Sasuke dropped his school bag and mentally questioned the stability of two wooden crates stacked on top one another and whether or not it could actually qualify as a seat. His mental inquiries were shrugged away as he placidly took the spot.

Gaara straightened in his own, the hinges of the folding chair squeaking from the pressure.

"Why are you here?" Gaara began.

"You're sister informed me that you would be able to help me with a problem," he answered.

"Business is usually handled elsewhere," said Gaara. "I'm sure Temari also informed you as such."

"She did. But for me to meet you anywhere outside of school would cause a bit of a commotion in my household."

"Why's that?"

"I don't go out."

Gaara's eyes narrowed in thought. "I see."

Gaara leaned forward, his seat once again creating noise. "What's your story?"

Sasuke brought his hands together on the table top. "Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata. They're too close for my comfort. I want them separated, even if it means crushing their friendship all together. Right now it seems as though they're avoiding each other. I have no evidence that something malevolent occurred between them. As far as I'm concerned, it's all just for show. In any case, if I see their relationship progress to a level where I can't stop, I need to have something done."

Gaara studied him, determining whether or not this was a legitimate case. Uchiha seemed the tactical type, didn't like to dirty his own hands. All he himself was good for was insurance, in case whatever plot he had turned out wrong, a clean exit.

"So now you're sniffing me out like a vampire bat for a horse with a nick on its ear he can suck on," he said at last. "They do that." (1)

Gaara leaned back again. "Do you have something in mind before you hire me? If not, I can also come up with ideas."

"There's no need," said Sasuke. "I have something up my sleeve."

"What about a pawn?"

"I have one in mind."

"Right," the red head murmured and cleared his throat. "I'll have you know that I charge per attempt."

"Do you usually charge more than once?" Sasuke questioned, a certain amount of doubt lining his voice.

"I never have before. I don't plan to anytime soon."

"How much?"

"Three."

"Hundred?"

"Million."

"Are you insane?!" the raven head shouted and leapt from his seat.

Both Temari and Kankuro flinched at the sound of the top crate crashing to the floor. Gaara remained as impassive as ever.

"That's my price," he said.

"That's completely ridiculous."

"As opposed to three hundred thousand?" Gaara countered. "There's not much of a difference."

"One more zero is a great difference."

Gaara shrugged. "That's my price."

Sasuke tugged at the front of his blazer and grabbed his bag from the floor. "It's only insurance. I'll pay you, if I need you."

"Why not just get it over with now?" Temari asked from her spot. "Get rid of the kid all together, it would be a whole lot easier, wouldn't it? At least that's what I think."

"We all know what you think," Kankuro scoffed.

Temari grabbed at his collar and pulled him forward. "Say another word and I swear I will disfigure you."

"Temari, let him go," Gaara said. "He's been bringing in more money than you are."

Temari let go of her brother hesitantly and leaned back against the wall. Gaara looked up at Sasuke.

"It's a deal then, Uchiha. Don't think my price will change. When you are in desperate need of my services, you will pay."

"If I ever need to come into your services," Sasuke corrected.

He took his leave shortly thereafter, not bothering to say any form of farewell. Only when the door was securely shut after him did they speak again.

"You raised it up another million there, Gaara," Kankuro said.

"Who knows when I'll get another assignment," was all Gaara said. "I'm just thinking long term."

"Yeah, but are you sure he'll bite?" Temari asked him.

"Why are you so concerned, Temari?" Gaara asked.

Temari looked slightly taken aback. "I'm just, thinking about our financial situation."

"Sure you are," snorted Kankuro. "You just want the Uzumaki brat dead."

"I said not to say another word," she growled.

"In any case," Gaara started, "he'll come back. This situation is more common than most. They always end up desperate."

xxx

Hinata tapped her pencil against the surface of the table in a steady rhythm. Though she should have been reading the assigned passages in her textbook, her mind kept wandering. A question remained unanswered and she was beginning to lose her patience.

She sighed and looked at her cousin across from her. "Neji."

He looked up. "What is it?"

"Is.. Is it just me, or is Naruto avoiding me?" she asked.

His eyebrow rose slightly in a surprised way. "What brought that on?"

"It's just," she began and sighed again. "I don't know. It's like every time I turn the corner, I see him running in the other direction. That's never happened before, ever."

"Did I do something?" she asked.

Neji took the question into serious consideration. His thought process showing clearly.

"Not to my knowledge. Could it have been something that happened on Sunday?" he asked.

"No," she said. "Like I told you, as soon as I got there, he told me he had to leave and just went running. It was weird, because it felt like, he didn't want to be around me. I don't know why though. He seemed really excited about the whole thing the day before."

"Yes, I know. I heard your side of the conversation."

"Well, anyway, I don't know. It feels like he's avoiding me."

She gasped suddenly. "Do you think he found out I have a crush on him?!"

"Who, Naruto? Of course not, he's too slow."

"Neji!" she exclaimed.

"He is! If he hasn't figured it out by now, the only way he'll now is if you spell it out for him," he reasoned. "It's probably an idiotic phase or something. He'll get over it."

"I suppose you're right," she sighed.

Neji frowned. It was obvious that this was bothering her. It was his turn to sigh. "Give him the rest of the week," he told her. "If he's still acting this way by Monday, I'll talk with him."

Her face brightened immensely. "Thank you," she smiled.

"It's the least I could do," he replied.

Feeling a slight bit better about it, she went back to her homework.

xxx

Naruto sat in front of his stereo, desperately trying to find an album that wouldn't include something that even closely resembled a love song. So far it wasn't working out very well. Even PiL's "This is Not a Love Song" was too close to an actual one, he couldn't sit through it.

"Ha!" he exclaimed and found a mixed CD he had received from Kiba on his brithday about a year ago or so. "Now I know there can't be anything on this that'll make me think."

He quickly popped it into the CD player and hit the play button. He threw himself on his bed and waited for the music to begin.

He closed his eyes. Hoping the notes and lyrics would leave him unable to contemplate anything that was going through his head recently. As of late, his mind was in mind was in a whirlwind of chaos, more so than usual. Right now, all he wanted was a break from his thoughts.

'And what's a better way than drowning away all the thoughts with music?' he asked himself. 'As long as said music doesn't remind you of your problems that is.'

His foot tapped against the mattress in sync with the beat. 'What's song's this?'

To his dismay he was quickly answered.

_Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick.  
__The one that makes me scream, she said.  
__The one that makes me laugh, she said.  
__Threw her arms around my head.  
__Show me how you do it, and I'll promise you, I'll promise you,  
__I'll run away with you. I'll run away with you._

"Oh hell no!" he yelled and fell off the mattress. He crawled over the the system and hit the next button.

_I fancy you, but I've been destined to. And all I know dissolved, I could never reundo you._

Next song.

_No more pain, I am destined to keep you sane, gotta rescue the flame, gotta rescue the flame in your heart._

Next song.

_Pack up, I'm straight. Enough. Oh say, say, say. Oh say, say, say. Oh say, say, say. Oh say, say, say. Oh say, say, say. Wait, they don't love you like I love you. Wai-_

Next song.

_And if it's okay, I'll just grab my shit and leave. I won't say one word, I'll keep my tricks up my sleeve. Flew off the handle, you opened fire on me. Put me down, put me out of misery, I'm fatally yours._

Next song!

_Yeah, yeah, she's the one._

Next song!

_Warn your warmth to turn away, here it's December everyday._

Next song!

_I miss you, I miss you so far. And the collision of your kiss that made it so hard._

Next song!

_There's times when I want something more, someone more like me._

Next song!

_I met her at the Burger King, we fell in love by the soda machine._

Naruto yelled and practically punched the stop button. "Kiba what the hell is wrong with you?! Why is everything insinuating love?!"

He pushed himself onto his knees and rocked himself backwards until he was flat on his back.

"All I wanted was just to forget everything for the moment," he said to himself. "Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so. I don't want to think about anything. I'm tired of thinking. That's all I've been doing. And Avoiding. Thinking and avoiding. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to handle this. My mind's in like, chaos, but not the good kind."

He sighed. "It's even reduced me to talking to myself."

He called out for Neko. The cat opened her eyes lazily and stood up from her bed. Afterwards she stretch and then proceed to trot into the bedroom. Upon seeing her, Naruto smiled.

"Good you're here," he said. "Talking to you will make me seem less crazy."

'Whatever you want to believe,' she thought and settled on the bottom bunk.

"Alright," he began. "So this is like what? Day four of Operation: Avoid Hinata? Not that I want to avoid her, I just, what the hell do I do? I don't know if I should do anything. I don't even know if I should consider her like that. I mean, haven't I been harping on Sakura this whole time? It's just too Romeo like. Y'know, how at the beginning he's all heartbroken because this girl rejected him, but the same day he falls madly in love with Juliet? It's like, what the hell? That's why I've always like Mercutio better, he was just flat out honest with everything. Argh! I'm getting off topic.

"It's true though, I have been thinking about where the hell I am with Sakura, but I always figured after awhile of not getting anywhere with Sasuke, she'd come around. Which is why I never gave up on her. But still, I'm not even really sure now, is my whole attraction to her completely physical? Because after thinking about it, I know absolutely nothing about her really. But I spend, what? Two days with Hinata and I know everything about her?

"Which, I guess it isn't all that true. I mean, I knew some stuff about her beforehand. Like, I knew she liked purple, and I knew that she didn't know what she wanted to do when she graduated. I knew when her birthday was, and I only had to learn that once. I knew that she never really liked fishnets because they always made her feel cold, and that she prefers pleated skirts to mini skirts. I knew she was a really good cook because all the girls would talk about it after their Home Ec. class last year. I knew she liked MCR because of the stickers in her locker. She's read just about as much as me, and she has a really good English dialect.

"She has that habit of holding her chopsticks higher than everyone else. But when she writes, she sometimes smudges her words because she holds her pens closer to the tip. Her penmanship is better in pencil than it is in pen. But she doesn't like writing in pencil because it smudges easier. She has a seperate notebook for each class, and they're all colored coded. I remember I tried doing that last year, did not work out well for me. She likes the notebooks with the clear pockets outside, so that she can put pictures and other stuff there. Like, personalizing it more. She's never liked the after taste of coffee. She's been straight edge since she was fifteen. That's when she read the article about it in Teen People, Davey Havok was one of those being interviewed. That was also when she learned about AFI.

"That was also when she contemplated going vegan, but thought twice about it and kind of took the whole circle of life prospective. And she likes to carry her books in her arms rather than stuff them in her bag. Because she worries about her posture. She's really self-conscious. But I blame the enviroment she grew up in."

He stopped himself and turned his head in Neko's direction. "Did I just ramble about her?"

The cat said nothing, not that he was expecting her to say anything. If he was, that just proved how stressed out he was about the whole situation.

"Wholly Shire," he muttered. "Am I in like with her?"

He sat up. "In like? What the hell does that mean? Oh my God, I'm losing it." He looked at the cat. "I think I'm losing it."

He laid back down. "I'm still kind of thinking this is like mob mentality. Or something. I don't know if what I'm thinking is on the level. And I don't want to lead her on or anything, because what if I do unintentionally and then just come to the epic conclusion that everything I thought was just a spur of the moment kind of thing? God knows she has enough emotional scars, I don't want to give her another one."

He sighed. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. But I don't think avoiding her is helping things. She's gotta be wondering what the hell by now. I really shouldn't leave her like that 'cause it's like I ditched her. That always feels like crap, I don't want her to feel like crap."

He sat up again. "It's a lot more.. I guess complicated then it really is. 'Cause, I don't know, when I see Sakura I still get that kind of longing feeling to sound pathetic for the moment. It's kind of the same feeling I've had ever since I first saw her. I don't get that feeling with Hinata. It's different. Like, there were sometimes when I felt like tearing up. Like I could feel my eyes wanting to water, and I don't get why. It's been like that a whole lot more recently. Like, every time I see her, I just kind of want to cry and then hug her afterwards. But not like bawl out crying, just, letting tears fall down your face cry."

He stood up and walked over to his bed. He motioned for Neko tomove over for him. Once she had, he laid down next to her.

"I don't know what the hell's going on with me," he continued. "But I'll be damned if I don't figure it out soon. This isn't something that seems like I could just put off."

Naruto stayed in that position. His voice was starting to turn raspy and his throat began to burn a little from his consistency in speech. Instead, he let his mind stew in their own thoughts, and eventually fell into a steady sleep.

xxx

There are worse things in life, than seeing the one person, who so much love and devotion was poured into, takes up another's hand and holds it against them the way that it was dreamt for the one viewing it. To see the warmth of their eyes gaze down into someone else. The words longed to be heard, directed to another.

There are worse things, but at that moment, everything else becomes obsolete. The body becomes numb, the only feeling is the agonizing sensation of a heart being torn out from its rightful place and pierced with a stilleto heel.

The most common way of coping with this, is usually an appropriate amount of grieving where the one hurt will cry to their contentment, hurt awhile, and eventually move on after swearing to never love again and then end up doing just that. Then there's the very rare occurrence, where the sight is seen, and in a span of thirty seconds or so is shaken off, deemed unimportant at the moment and continues with whatever was going on. Then of course later on during the day after all events are taken care of, a few tears are shed and life goes on.

But of course, Sakura was neither of these. Sakura was under a different category. The one where the world around her crashed and nothing would ever fix it.

It hadn't happened yet, though from what she was seeing in front of her, it would at any moment.

'This.. this isn't what I think it is,' her mind denied. 'There's no way that... There's just no way that Ino could have been telling me the truth.'

The sight in front of her though, wove a different tale. Sasuke, her Sasuke, not even ten feet away from her, with Hinata. At first she had thought maybe it was just a casual conversation between acquaintances. But Ino's words to her wouldn't stop buzzing around in her head. So, she made her was closer to them. And the discovery of what they were speaking of, caused a pain in her chest.

The more she watched them, the more shallow her breath became. The moment he leaned to place a small peck on Hinata's face, she wanted to cry out for him to stop. She did cry out, but it was a not a name, more of just a general cry of pain as she toppled over from the pain. The last thing she heard was someone calling out for help, and the last thing she saw before losing conscious was Hinata turning to look at her and Sasuke seizing that opportunity to place a small kiss upon her cheek.

xxx

Getting off on the train platform, Naruto thought that maybe before heading home he should stop by the hospital and see how Sakura was doing. It was still rather early, there wasn't the single thought that it was already passed visiting hours.

'Everyone probably already visited her,' he thought. 'I'm gonna be the last one.'

He turned off on the street going towards the hospital. While walking, he saw the flower shop Ino's family owned coming up ahead of him. He stopped in front of the building's front door once he had reached that spot.

'I don't have anything for her. Maybe I should get her some flowers.'

He opened the door and stepped inside. The bell at the door sounded his entrance. Ino looked up from the magazine she was flipping thru.

"Naruto," she greeted with a small smile. "What are you doing here? Didja get lost on your way to the ramen shop?"

"No," he answered. "Can't you let that go, it only happened once."

"No can do," she teased. "I don't think I'll ever see you that hysterical again."

"You should have seen me last night," he murmured.

"What's that?"

"Nothing. Hey, have you already gone to visit Sakura."

Her smile slipped from her face. "Yeah, I did."

"How she doin'?"

"I don't know," she said with a slight shrug. "Everyone before me told me that she wouldn't talk to anyone."

"What happened?" he asked.

Ino shrugged again. "The doctor said that it was a panic attack brought on by too much anxiety. Said she might be dealing with a lot of stress and just needed rest. She'll be out soon."

"Well that's good," said Naruto. "The getting out soon part, not the too much stress."

"But when I saw her," she sighed. "She looked really bad. And then when she saw me, she started crying before I even had a chance to say anything. Before I knew it, I was being ushered out."

She gestured to the solitary flower in a vase next to her. "I didn't even get to give her my flower."

Her eyes were half lidded as they stared at the blossom. Ever since this conversation began, her face had sadness evident in her expressions.

"I'm sorry," Naruto finally said.

She looked up at him. "It's not your fault. It's most likely Sasuke's."

Naruto's eyebrows rose at how hateful her tone sounded when speaking the boy's name. After all, wasn't she one of his many admirers?

He was going to ask how it could have been Sasuke's fault, but though better of it. Instead he said, "Well I was gonna stop by and see her, so if you want, I could take her your flower."

Ino smiled brightly. "I would like that. Buuut, you should take one of your own too. That's all you'll need, is for Sakura to say how when she was in the hospital you didn't even bring her flowers later on in life."

"Yeah, I guess," he chuckled.

"Come on," she said and made her way around the counter. "I'll help you find the perfect flower for her."

"That'll be great," he said. "I would have probably gotten her a flower she was allergic to or something."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Honestly Naruto, you've been in love with her for like forever and you still don't know the simplest things?"

"I guess I'm just a little slow in that department," he laughed uncertainly.

"Tell me about it," she said and walked off to the nearest batch of flowers on display.

"You don't have to be mean about it," he said and joined her.

It was already twenty minutes into his visit to the Yamanaka's flower shop before Ino was satisfied with his selection. Ino made her way back to her position behind the cash register and Naruto followed after her. Before he took his respected spot in front of the counter, something purple caught his eye. He made his way to display case and let out a low laugh at the name it carried in front of it.

"Ino," he called out.

She stopped and walked over to him. "What is it?"

"Is this really what the flower's called?" he asked her and pointed to the plant in front of him.

Ino looked past his finger and at the blossom. "Yeah, that's it's name. Why?"

"No way," he said. "That's like... not even kopacetic describes that. I'll take one."

"What for?" she asked him, watching him open the case and bring one out.

"I'm gonna give it to Hinata," he said without thinking.

"Eh?!" she asked, surprised by his answer. "Didn't you say you weren't dating?"

"We're not!" he exclaimed.

Ino raised her eyebrow. A mischievous smile grew even wider as she witnessed a faint red stain his across his face. "You do though, don't you?! That's so cute!"

"No! I don't! I just- I- leave me alone!"

"What? Are you still in denial?" she asked.

"I'm not in denial," he said. "I saw the flower, thought of her, and just thought, I don't know, I'd get it for her."

"Naruto," her tone turning slightly serious. "Do you like Hinata? Like, like her li-"

"I swear to God, you say 'like her like her', I'll walk out of here without buying anything."

"Okay, okay.. But you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know, and.. I-I don't know. I just think right now I'm stuck in mob mentality."

Ino blinked. "What?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Like, I just found out she liked me and it was only then that I started thinking that maybe I could like her, but I don't even know if I really feel like that or I just think that because I found out she liked me. I don't know if I genuinely feel like I can like her when I've only really gotten to know her after two days and not to mention I've always thought I would never get over Sakura and I still feel like, stuff for her. I'm like, in an emotional whirlwind of chaos and I don't know how to get out of it!"

By the time he finished ranting he was slightly breathing harder. Ino regarded him intently.

"So you found out she liked you?"

"Did you know?" he asked.

She nodded. "Everyone knew. It was kind of hard to not know."

Naruto groaned. "Why didn't I?"

"You said it yourself," she said. "You're slow in this department."

"And how," he sighed.

"And how what?" she asked.

"Nothing, just forget it. Listen, Ino, if you could offer any advice or something, it might help."

Ino shook her head sadly. "I don't think I would have anything good to say for something like this. It's not as though I have any real experience."

"It's alright, I gotcha," he told her. "No worries though. I'm sure I'll figure out myself soon. Or at least I hope to God I do."

With a sad smile, Ino took the flower from his hand. "Come on," she said. "I'll ring you up."

Their fiscal transaction took less time than the browsing they did. Naruto turned to leave and was halfway to the main doors when Ino called out for him.

"What is it?" he asked.

She chewed on her bottom lip before speaking. "Honestly, I was actually kind of hoping that Sakura would end up falling for you. 'Cause.. it's obvious Sasuke's no good for her. But Hinata, well, I've never seen her as happy as when she's with you. And, I know that she's never changed how she's felt about you, ever. But if you're still in love with Sakura-"

"That's just it though," he cut her off. "I don't know if I ever was actually in love with her. Yeah, I've crushed on her, but I don't know if that's the same. And I don't know if I'm only thinking this because Hinata likes me."

"You keep saying like," Ino pointed out to him. "Are you saying you don't believe she loves you?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. Aren't we too young to know what real love is?"

"Of course not," she said. "If anything, we're the only ones that know what real love is. I think teenagers know more than they let on. We're the most smartest out there."

Naruto laughed. "And apparently so smart, grammar laws don't apply to us."

Ino blinked and then realized what she had said. "Shut up. Just, just go already."

Naruto let out a short laugh and made for the door.

"Hey, Ino," he said from the doorway. "Thanks for listening."

"The doctor's always in," she joked. "But let the record show you owe me five cents."

"Whatever you say, Lucy," he laughed and was gone.

Ino let out a sigh and slumped on the counter. "I thought I had problems," she said to herself. "I think I'm one of the few that got out lucky."

xxx

The morning had started off normal enough. When Sasuke entered Homeroom, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, Sakura was still out, and to his pleasant surprise, Naruto wasn't present either. The morning had turned from normal to wonderful. He even contemplated if he should sit nearer to the front of the room, maybe in the seat Sakura ususally took. But alas, his morning happiness would not be kept intact. For about ten minutes later, Kakashi opened the door of the classroom, and with him, brought the destruction of Sasuke's happy morning.

"Sorry I'm late," he began like always. "I saw a fairy ring on my way to school and had to investigate it."

Cue main point in destruction.

"Sensei, what the hell?!" A very upset Naruto revealed himself from behind. "You stole my excuse!"

"Did I?" Kakashi asked him.

"You know damn well you did! I told you that while we were walking up here!"

"Hm.. So you did."

"That's all you're gonna say?!" Naruto yelled.

"Of course not," Kakashi said and handed him a slip. "Here, detention for your tardiness."

"I hate you," he told the older man and grabbed the offending yellow slip in front of him.

Sasuke watched Naruto make his way into the mass of desks, figuring that he would have taken his normal seat. No such luck, instead the blonde plopped himself down into the seat Sakura normally occupied. Landing himself right in between Ino and Hinata. Through narrowed eyes he saw him greet the blonde and then turn his full attention to the other girl. He strained his ears to listen in to their conversation. Nothing of particular interest, he was blabbing about the fairy ring he saw while walking to school. It was until he reached into his bag that Sasuke paid more attention.

"That reminds me," he heard him say. "I was at Ino's flower shop and you'll never guess what I found."

He pulled out a cellophane bag, inside of it was a small purple rose. He unwrapped it and held it between his thumb and forefinger.

"It's called Baby Talk," he laughed. Even more so at the surprise shown on Hinata's face. "I'm not lying. Ino, tell her I'm not lying."

"He's not lying," Ino reassured.

"There's actually a flower called Baby Talk?" Hinata asked, taking the blossom from his grasp and studying it within her own. "I've never seen a purple rose up close before." She then laughed a bit. "Why would anyone name a rose Baby Talk?"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with Baby Talk," he said. "I mean, yeah, she's kind of a wall flower most of the time, but that doesn't mean anything bad. She's just as pretty as all the other girls and... "

He faltered at the end. Not really sure how to keep that sentence going. The faint blush on his face was just as noticeable as her own. The two of them avoided eye contact, whereas Ino watched them both with a bright smile plastered onto her face.

"You two are so cute," she teased. This statement from her caused them both to blush harder.

"What the hell are you talking about, Ino?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You.. weird person, you.. Shut up!"

Hinata held the rose out to him. "It's very pretty, Naruto," she said. "Thank you for showing me this."

"No," he said. "It's.. I-I.. I bought it for you. It's yours." He suddenly became very interested in the desk in front of him.

Her mouth formed a small "Oh" shape, but no sound came from it. "Th-thank you."

"It's nothing," he replied. He then brought his head back up and saw that she was just gazing down at the flower. It was then that he realized that she probably didn't know what to do with it.

"Here," he said, and took the flower from her own grasp. He leaned over more and slid the blossom behind her left ear. "Hey, it goes really well with your eyes."

They both suddenly became very interested in their desks.

Sasuke watched as the rest of the day passed by like this. They were back to their constant inseperation. What happened to have this again, Sasuke wasn't sure (not that he was ever completely sure about the reasons for the temporary seperation, keep in mind). Whatever reason though, it was only providing to be an obstacle for him. He had wanted to catch her alone again.

'Not that it would have done much,' he thought. 'He showered her with so much attention, she wasn't going to take any proposal of mine into any serious consideration.'

Which is why he found himself here. He had come up with a plot to tear the two of them apart, but that was conceived during the time they were first inseparable. He had thought that with this new development of them avoiding each other, he wouldn't have to use it. Not that he forgot it entirely though, backups are a necessity in life.

This current inseperability though seemed to him to be more of a threat than the first one. For one, there was more blushing. That, couldn't be a good sign. He thought it would be best to nip this in the bud, which could only mean that he was beginning to put his game into motion. Which led to the need of his pawn. She was indisposed at the moment, but he was sure that as soon as she was out once again in the world, she would be more than willing to do his bidding, as long as he worded it the right way. And even then who knew? He could most likely tell her to jump and she would ask, "How high?".

Here it was, the room he had been directed to. He entered precociously, walking straight up to the bed, dropping his bag into the seat nearby. He stared down at her, and almost felt as though he shouldn't.

Almost, not quite.

He lifted his hand and placed it gently on the side of her face. The touch cause her to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and slowly came to a still as they landed on his face. She looked at her visitor a bit oddly, as though believing that there was no way he could actually be there. She spoke softly.

"Sasuke?"

"Hello, Sakura," he greeted with a Cheshire smile. "Are you doing well?"

XXX  
TBC...  
XXX

(1) I had to have someone say that. XD It's my favorite line out of Brick. If anyone hasn't seen it, it's truly one kopacetic film, I highly recommend it. Throughout the whole thing though, you're gonna be like, "... Where are the parents?!". If you don't believe teenagers can do that kind of stuff without parents getting involved, take it from me, it's possible. And how...

A/N: The final scene of Act Two!! Do you know what that means?! Act Three begins next week!! Are you excited?! 'Cause I am!! -laugh- Finally, the elusive mystery of who speaks the summary will be revealed!! And, the mystery of the prolouge will be solved!!.. Does anyone still remember there was a prolouge? To be honest, I kind of forgot I had one. -sweatdrop- So, in case anyone forgot, there's a prolouge.

Anyway, even though I only got about five hours of sleep in the last forty-eight, I'm doing rather well. I'm not sure how I'm going to do tonight, but I'm pretty sure I'll do fine. -sigh- It's been one hell of a week. I know that I've been called "all knowing", but I've learned things this week. Like, the weather here in Orange County is out to get me. How the hell can it be sunny one day and then flash floods the next?! I also learned, that if you don't want your music collection to be stolen, it's probably best to keep it locked up... those thieving bastards. Also, just because you start an outline Saturday, doesn't mean you'll finish the chapter Monday. Also, when writing said chapter, it's best to not do it in the same room as your Beta. Because whereas he will be helpfull in keeping you up, he will also be a major distraction. And of course the big one, it's best to tell everyone about events ahead of time. Because it isn't wise, nor is it safe, to spring an announcement of an upcoming show the night before the performance on a very irritated Weasley. Especially, if that show requires me to be in the one place I hate, with the one person I absolutely loathe. Yes, I will be ending this Hell Week with a show, that hasn't been rehearsed yet (and which needs to be performed in eight hours), in Hollywood. Of all places.. it had to be Hollywood... Words cannot describe how much I hate going into Hollywood. Hypocritical organization beat up innocent free thinking minors there. Allan Pike knows what I'm talking about. I never did thank you properly for listening to my side of the story, so thank you for that. Appreciate it. It's not only that though, it's just, everytime I go, I'm always hassled in some shape and form. Just, bleah! This isn't a full blown rant, I'm saving that for Xanga.

beats note. (yaw) i'm rited... reviw!


	24. Intermission

A/N: -clears throat- Okay, there is no new chapter. Let me start off by saying how extremely sorry I am. -dodges chair- That was expected. Anyway, I'm sorry. The lack of a new chapter, by all means, was not due to my procrastinating habit. If anything I put off being a procratinator this week, with the acception of not writing anything Super Tuesday, but isn't that understandable? -cough-

Anyway though, it's true, as soon as the last chapter was posted, I did start working on the new one, because I knew that it was a really important chapter (to me anyway, because it's the opening of the final act) and a simple all nighter wasn't going to cut it for me. I don't know what's going on, but everything that's put out is just not right. I don't like how it's coming out and I think I've rewritten the same section eight times already, the rest of it just seems off somehow. Honestly, I think the only ones I don't have problems with are the Lee sections.

Not that I'm trying to build up this chapter to look like it's one of the greatest written pieces ever, I'm just saying that if my Beta says I can do better, then obviously something's wrong...

So then, one more week is all I ask. Just one week and this play will be up and running. It should only take one more week. I mean, I already have an outline on the chapter, so I know what happens and I know how it happens, it's just when it comes to actual putting it in story format, it's giving me issues. I don't know how to really describe it, my writing style. I've been told that the way I write is very messy and complicated. I think I'm getting off topic so let me just go back a bit... okay.

So yes, one more week, please be patient, this will be the last time I don't post something up on a Friday. You all have my word.

-Laith

(And once more, there's a small skit below because I don't want anything to jeopardize this fic into being deleted for stupid reasons)

xxx

The sound of the audience filing out through the doors and into the lobby for a quick leg stretch could be heard through the closed curtains. The crew was busy at work with changing the background for the next scene while the cast of characters themselves settled backstage to take a break of their own.

"Wait," Sakura said. "So this is a play."

"In prose," Hinata told her.

"So you can have a play in prose," Tenten said.

"What's prose?" Naruto asked.

"You're the literate," said Kiba

"In the play."

"So you knew it was a play?" Sakura asked him.

"I just go with it."

"So it's not real," she thought aloud.

"No, it's real," said Shikamaru.

"But it's a play."

"Well, yeah, it is. But as soon as it goes back on, it's real."

"So... do we know what's going to happen?"

"No."

Silence settled over them. Become a bit stiffling as more time passed on.

"So we're not acting?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru sighed in aggravation. "No."

"Oh..." She stayed quiet for a bit. "So are really gay for Naruto?"

"No!... Okay, listen everyone, I'm not explaining this a second time. Right here, during these small session parts that should have only happened once, we're back in our normal lives, seeming to only be actors in one helluva weird play. But, when the curtain goes up again, what is written is our life."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted.

"What?"

"That hurt my head."

"Okay, I think I get it," Ino said. "But one question."

"What?"

"As actors, right now, is there a script for us to look at?"

"There should be, but there isn't."

"Why not?"

"Because the script hasn't been written yet."

"The how the hell are we supposed to act?!"

"We're only playing the part as actors during these little session, didn't you listen to me?!"

"Okay, I think I have it!" Naruto exclaimed. "So when that curtain goes up, it's like some wierd Twilight Zone thing and we're thrown into some wierd universe where that is what seems to be our real life but really it's not because here we're just acting in a play and none of what happened is real... here anyway."

"Something like that," Shikamaru told him.

"Alright! I rock!" He jumped in the air while yelling so. "So Chouji's not really hyped on smack, Tenten's not a whore, and Hinata's not really in love with me."

Once again, the silence became overwhelming.

"Is there a lamp anywhere to throw at him?" asked Sasuke.

"If there was, I'd gladly hand it over," Neji said.

"What?" the blonde asked confused. "What'd I do?"

"You're an idiot," Sakura sighed.

The lights in the entire theatre dimmed and lit up. A call from off stage sounded.

"Places everyone!"

One by one, they took their respected positions on stage.

xxx

Hey guys, don't take these things seriously, 'kay? They're just there for fun, they really have nothing to do with the story. -Laith

beta's note: ya know... i've never seen laith this stressed out over something since... well i guess it happend a few weeks before grad day but anyway i just wanted to say no one complain because the honest to god truth is that she doesn't have to write at all. doesn't matter if i tell her not to kill herself over it she'll do it anyway because it's just her nature to do things like that. she said she'd post every firday so she HAS to post every friday. never going back on her word that's her nindo... you see? when she says things like that how can i not compare her to naruto?


	25. Act III, Scene I

xxx  
Act III, Scene I: "The course of true love never did run smooth: But either it was different in blood-"  
xxx

For some time now, Lee had already noticed that there was a drastic change in Tenten's daily routine. It wasn't as though he was following her every step from the shadows before the abruptness occured. No, stalking was never his intention, all he did was watch her house, call her phone, sneak glances into her calendar on her cell phone so that he knew when she was going out and what time she wouldn't be home.

But at one point not long ago, he saw that all outings-with who he assumed were the girls-were no longer being planned. Instead of days marked within her calendar noting the various days and times she would be gallavanting out, Tenten began using the planner setting of her mobile in order to organize her day. And each day there was always a certain time frame that she labeled "work".

Upon learning the newfound information, Lee began to grow curious as to where his Tenten was working at and for what purpose. It wasn't as though she had ever been in fiscal problems of any sort, or at least not that he was aware of. It was that thought alone that caused him to go into a small mental frenzy over how horrible it was of him to not even be aware of such a thing.

The conclusion he came to was to, instead of ask Tenten upfront, follow her to her place of work and then there confront her about why she was working. The fact that he would also know where her job was located was a plus for him, he would be able to support her from afar, depending on her trade.

It was on Sunday afternoon that he staked outside of her homestead and waited patiently for the time that she would leave for her workplace. It was late afternoon before Tenten made her appearance at her doorway. She bounded from the front lawn onto the sidewalk and went her usual way. The entire way, Lee shadowed her every step, always from a good distance in order to keep his presence hidden.

Where she led him, surprised him like nothing ever had before.

'This place,' he thought. 'I know what kind of places these are, but this cannot be possibly be..'

"Tenten!" he called out.

The brunette spun around quickly, surpirsed that someone who recognized her was around.

"Lee?" When realizing who it was that had called out her name, she stepped forward closer to the boy just to make sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks with her. Yes, her mind confirmed, it was Lee alright.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What am I doing here?" he retorted. "I think the better questions would be: What are you doing here, Tenten?"

She huffed and placed her hands upon her hips.

"Answer me, Lee," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you."

"What?!" she exclaimed. "From where?!"

"I stayed outside of your home," he answered. "Waiting for you and followed you here. Now, tell me what it is you are doing here."

"Why should I tell you that? That's none of your business. And anyway, what the hell are you doing following me to work?"

"This is where you work?"

Tenten silently cursed herself in being careless with her words. "Don't tell anyone," she said.

"Tenten.. why are you doing this?"

She shrugged. "Why not? It's not like I'm exaclty a virgin anymore."

Lee took a step back and gasped in horror. "You mean to say.. Tenten who?"

The girl smiled cryptically and had a faraway look in her eyes. "It was Kiba," she muttered. "All because of Kiba."

She snapped out of her dreamstate and looked Lee dead in the eye. "I have work," she said. "I'll see you at school."

She left him standing there alone. Lee's mind tired to comprehend the meaning of her words. Whether or not he understood what she meant exactly wasn't of great importance to him. All that mattered right now was that he would seek vengeance out on Kiba for besmirching Tenten's honor.

xxx

"Shikamaru."

His eye automatically twitched slightly. With a small groan his lids fluttered open and was immediately fronted with a pair of blue eyes.

Shikamaru blinked. "Any particular reason you're so close to me?"

Naruto moved back from hovering over the other boy and settled in a cross-legged position next to him. Shikamaru lifted himself up and sat with his legs layed out in front of him. He rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes and then focused on the boy next to him.

"So I guess there was no reason?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged. "No, not really."

They sat there for quite awhile before Shikamaru spoke up again.

"So, was there any reason why you came up here?" he questioned the blonde.

All of a sudden, Naruto blurted out, "I think I'm in like with someone!"

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow at the sudden outbrust. "What?"

Naruto took a deep breath and then told him everything that he had been thinking for the past week or so. Starting from when he had confronted Tenten outside of the book shop and found out about Hinata to the sudden revelations he had been having only yesterday.

"So, you want to be in a relationship with her?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well so far, I'm thinking I do, but now I'm afraid that I'm gonna pull a J.D.," he told him.

"What?"

"Y'know, J.D. wanted to be with Elliot but she was with Sean and he told her that he wanted her so she broke up with Sean but once J.D. had her, he realized he didn't want her. That was pretty messed up, my support for him dropped there. But then it went back up when him and Turk did that ring power thing and he said, 'Form of, ice menorah!'. I laughed so hard, I cried."

Naruto started laughing. He turned to face Shikamaru and found him staring at him with bewilderment expressed none to lightly on his face.

"It.. It was the way his face looked while saying it," he tried to explain. "Dammit, I like Scrubs!"

Shikamaru blinked. "You need to stop watching it."

"But it's funny," Naruto whined. "Isn't there anyone else who thinks it's funny?"

"Doesn't Kiba watch it too?"

"I mean someone who matters."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Whatever.. So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not really sure about anything right now," he confessed. "I just wanted to be sure that you would be okay with whatever I decide to do."

"Naruto," Shikamaru began. "I knew from the get go what crushing on you would be like. No matter what would be said between us it's all in good fun and just joking around. The inevitable would occur, you'd find someone and whatever I felt for you will die down until they become all but nonexistant. It might hurt a bit at first, but through logical thinking, I'll just have to accept it because I already knew it was coming."

"Why can't everyone be as agreeable as you?" Naruto grinned.

Shikamaru shrugged. "There wasn't much to it after I rationalized my emotions."

Naruto shook his head slowly. "I swear, Shikamaru, you're the only one I know who could rationalize something like emotions."

Shikamaru shrugged again. "It's not like it's something high on my priority list. There's something else I need to help out with that's more important than my trivial ridden problems."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Like what?"

Shikamaru stayed silent at first. Then said, "I'm not sure if I should tell anyone. I mean, a lot of people would say that his parents should know but I'm still kind of choosing my plan of action. From what he's told me and from what he swears up and down, he can quit at any time, so, I guess at first I kind of figured that if he quit cold turkey then nothing messy would happen. I don't know, it's been like a week already or something like that. At first he was kind of freaking out, seeing things and stuff, guess it's just the withdrawl. He's been staying home all this time, his mom just says it's a fever. Guess she chalks all that seeing stuff as a side effect to sickness.

"But... I don't know what I should do." He paused a moment to let out a sigh. "This is really messed up. I should have an answer for everything. Aren't I a genius like everyone has always told me? Shouldn't I be able to help my friend out with something like this?.. I don't know.. I don't know. Maybe I'm just overthinking the whole thing. I could be. Maybe I'm not thinking hard enough, or maybe I should stop thinking and start doing. Maybe..."

Naruto stared at him blankly. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Apparently," the other boy started. "Chouji's been.. well.. I don't want to say 'doing drugs' because it doesn't sound serious enough but then again anything that has to do with narcotics would be something serious."

"What the hell?! Are you serious? Why?"

"He wanted to lose weight," Shikamaru answered. "I'm pretty sure it was for a girl. I mean, that's what he was talking about before. It was during that time when Kurenai had us doing those essays on whatever we wanted. One day I went over to his place, one thing was said followed by another and it slipped out that he wanted to lose weight to impress a girl. But he went on with telling me that he was losing it a healthy way... I'm not gonna lie, I kind of suspected that he was doing something funny when we wouldn't eat all together. Originally I had thought that it could have been an eating disorder."

"Isn't that only what girls do?" Naruto thought aloud.

"Eating disorders aren't only for girls," the other told him. "Guys do it too. And sometimes it doesn't only stem from vanity issues. Whatever though, this is getting off topic."

Neither one spoke after that. Naruto took the silence as an opportunity to take in everything Shikaramu had just said to him.

"So," Naruto said, breaking quietness of the room. "He did it to lose weight, to impress a girl.. Damn.. How- How does that even working."

"Well, when you do Speed, there's two different forms," Shikamaru explained. "The first is just an amphetamine, which even though is closely related chemically to methamphetamines, isn't really the same. There is no hallucinations or anything like that, all it does is keep you up. That's all it is, but it does start eating away at your body like all other drugs do. The second form of Speed, is methamphetamine, which is made using the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine method. Meaning over-the-counter meds are taken, placed in solutions and have the ephedrine or pseudoephedrine seperated. Then you add a bunch of cleaning supplies, and bam! You have methamphetamine hydrochloride."

"That sounds like something out of bio chem," said Naruto. "So how did that do his weight losing thing?"

"When taking a methamphetamine, not only do you stay awake for hours on end, you do a lot more physical activity, appetite can range from low to nonexistant, increased respiratory, hypethermia, and basically a high. But of course it also gives someone insomnia, confusion, convulsions, paranoia, anxiety, death."

"He was willingly doing this to himself for a girl?"

"If you think that's bad, I also found LSD and MDMA on him. That's worse than Speed alone."

"M-D-M-A," Naruto sounded out each letter carefully. "That's Ecstacy isn't it?"

Shikamaru nodded solemnly. "That stuff is lethal. True, any substance is. But Ecstasy can kill the first time you take it. As long as the dosage is big enough, or it's a bad mix. Sometimes when people make that, it's not even pure. A bad cut."

"Poor Frisco," the blond quoted.

Shikamaru caught onto the reference. "Poor Frisco indeed." (1)

"So what are you doing to do?" he questioned Shikamaru.

"Right now, to him it's only me that knows. I don't know how he'd react if other people knew. So for now, let's keep this on the down low, I'll play it off as though I haven't told anyone at all."

He turned his head and looked at Naruto dead in the eye.

"If I ever call you," he said, "to come help me out with him, will you?"

"You don't even have to ask me that," Naruto answered. "Of course I will."

Shikamaru turned his head back facing forward.

"Thanks."

"Anything for friends. Hell, you guys are like family. Like we're all brothers and sisters or something."

A small smile broke onto Shikamaru's face. "Doesn't that make Hinata your sister?"

Naruto turned and punched his shoulder lightly. "Shut up. You know what I mean."

Shikamaru rubbed at the newly developed sore spot unenthusiastically.

"Yeah," he said. "I get it."

xxx

It was halfway through lunch and Hinata still had not seen Naruto anywhere. She had begun to think that maybe he had gone back to avoiding her for whatever reason he had before. She dismissed the thought though, not wanting to believe it at all. Instead she went on a search throughout the school. searching the grounds first and moving onto every floor. It then occured to her that maybe he had not yet left the library. She immediately went directly to the location and made her way to the back of the room where she was most certain he stayed during the hour.

She moved past the final shelves to the usual deserted table. To her utter happiness, there he was.

Naruto was facing opposite of her. He had a book faced open on the table, it looked though that he had given up on trying to read and instead opted for listenting to his CD player. Quite loudly at that. She concluded that he had not heard the bell ring and still thought it was fifth period.

She moved right behind him and threw her arms around his neck. Naruto instantly pulled his headphones down and turned his head at the feel of human contact.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"It's lunch," she told him. "I was looking for you but no one had seen you so I thought maybe you hadn't left the library. I was right."

"No way, it's lunch already? I must have spaced out longer than I thought."

Hinata agreed nonverbally and let go of her hold on him. She reached out and took possession of the book that had been abandoned.

"What were you reading?" she asked him.

"A collection of Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzche, Schopenauer, and so and so forth."

"What'd you think?"

"I think I know a whole lot more than any of them did," he laughed. "Honestly, these radical ideals and notions make it seem as though they have no idea what they're talking about. I compare it to a precocious ten year-old who wants attention."

"That bad, huh?"

"And how." He stood up and stretched his arms out. "But I guess they all have their moments.. Sometimes. Not all the time.. Hardly."

"Have you read enough to be that judgmental?" she questioned.

"I'm not being judgmental, I'm critiquing. There's a difference, I'm just not sure what it is," he told her. "And anyway, when you read Dostoyevsky, it's just sadder than watching John Edwards when he tried to win the primary election for the Democratic nomination."

Hinata laughed a little before stopping herself. "Naruto, you shouldn't say that," she said. "He tried his best."

"I'm just glad he pulled out before he lost more money."

Hinata let out a soft "Hm" and closed the book she had begun flipping through and set it back on the table.

"So if you had given up reading, we're you just listening to music?"

"Kind of," he said. "I was thinking more."

"Anything of particular interest?"

"Nothing really," he answered. "This and that. Mostly my love life."

She smiled softly. "You were thinking about Sakura?"

"No it wasn't Sakura," he muttered. "I was thinking more about you."

Her breath hitched at the back ofher throat due to the shock of hearing such a blunt statement from Naruto, the one that she had always seen in that light. To her, this was a bigger surprise than when Sasuke has approached her.

"Naruto, I-"

He pressed his hadn against her mouth, cutting her off from whatever it was she was about to say.

"Hinata," he said softly, "I need you to listen and I need you listen good. Okay, what I'm about to say, is important and oh-so-very-serious. I think that I have fallen in like with you. Yes, I said in like, because it's already pretty much obvious to me that I just don't like you but as far as using the "L" word, I don't know because now I'm questioning myself whether or not I even understand the definition.

"Right now that isn't really the point. The point is that I'm getting over Sakura already and even though that's true I'm still not really sure where I want to take this. But the truth of the matter is that I do like you. Now, nod your head if you understand what I just said."

She nodded her head numbly, fully understanding the words that were coming out of his mouth but also considering the idea that she was daydreaming again.

Naruto let out a breath of relief and dropped his hand away from her lips. He then took each one of her hands into each one of his own and moved one step closer to her.

"Thanks," he said. "For being so damn understanding.. Hinata, right now, what I kind of want is to kinda just do things alone for awhile, to give myself some time to overthink and make sure that I haven't overlooked anything that I am feeling for you becaue I don't want to hurt you by starting a relationship and the next day I'm gonna wanna callit quits. As far as all goes out right now, I do want to have a more than just friends relationship with you. Anyway though, the point of this second speech is, until I come back with a one hundred percent confident descision, will you wait for me?"

Hinata looked up at him with wide eyes and her mouth slightly agape. She felt her lips part and close again in an attmept to allow sound out to form a comprehensible answer but to no avail.

Naruto realized her lack of speech was stemming from her temporary loss of being able to vocalize anything and said, "Just a nod or a shake would be fine."

Hinata presed her lips together and nodded vigurously.

A broad grin broke out onto Naruto's face. He lowered his face down to her level and placed a chaste kiss on her tightly pressed lips.

"Thank you," he whispered and pulled himself back.

Only a moment later did Hinata act accordingly and fainted promptly into his arms.

xxx

Sasuke exited the library only a few minutes after Naruto had with Hinata in his arms. Instead of leaving promptly when the bell had rung sounding the end of the fifth hour of the school day, he had noticed that the blonde had not left his table in the back. Suspicious, he too had stayed behind, overcome with the feeling that something big was about to happen.

And it had.

He had no idea that Naruto would have said something like that, but it was common knowledge that the blonde was more for tackling things head on instead of thinking them through. Even though he did, Sasuke had no way of knowing that.

Though to anyone, it would seem as that the raven haired boy would have been furious with this sudden proposition of the two of them forming a relationship, but in fact, he was actually quite pleased with this.

'The idiot just made everything a whole lot easier for me,' he thought. 'Now all I have to do is wait for Hinata to approach me, which should be tomorrow at earliest, and I can set up the next stage. This worked out quicker than I thought it would.'

He passed by the nurse's office and took a quick peak inside. Naruto was speaking with the nurse, Hinata was most likely already lying in one of the beds that were hidden behind the curtains. Sasuke quickly moved back and pressed himself against the wall. Naruto came through the doorframe and headed back in the direction of the library, never noticing that Sasuke was right behind him.

Sasuke smirked. 'Makes it all the better for me.'

xxx

Naruto had gathered his things together and headed for the rooftop of the schoo.. He trotted up the stairs faster than usual, there wasn't that much of the lunch hour left and he still hadn't eaten. He pushed himself through the door and was instantly greeted with a noodle to the face.

"I told you it would be him," Kiba laghed. "And I got him with a noodle!"

"And if it wasn't him?" Shikamaru asked.

Kiba shrugged. "But it was. No harm no foul."

"Whatever," Shikamaru sighed. "It wouldn't be my problem."

Naruto wiped away the offending piece of food from his face and sat down with the other boys that were there.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked, opening his bag and retrieving his lunch.

"Yeah, you did," Kiba told him. "Shino spoke!"

"You make it sound like he doesn't at all," said Shikamaru.

"It's rare that he speaks during lunch time. Usually someone else is doing all the talking and he's just a wall flower."

"He would also appreciate it if either of you wouldn't speak about him as though he wasn't here."

"Oh my God!" Naruto shouted. "Shino spoke!"

The three of them laughed while Shino fixed a glare on Naruto.

Naruto coughed and cleared his throat. "So other than that, anything else happen?"

Kiba shook his head. "Nah, nothing ever happens unless your around. Then it's like, what trouble is he going to bring with him now?"

"That's not true," Naruto defended. "So that's happened a few times, not like anything extremely big goes on when I'm around."

Suddenly, at that very moment the door was kicked open and throught the frame came none other than Lee himself with an expression that screamerd out determination plastered onto his face. His rounded eyes focused on the group in front of him, upon recognizing the face he had been lookind for the entire hour, he pointed a finger directly at Kiba.

"You!" he exclaimed. "I have finally found you! After searching this school inside and out I had finally aquired the information needed in order to locate your presence and here you are along with myself. Now, I will make you pay!"

The four boys looked at him with puzzled expressions. Lee's whole appearance had just come out of nowhere.

"Well." Naruto was the first one to speak up. "Maybe I do bring excitement with me everywhere I go."

"Naruto, shut up," said Shikamaru. "Lee what are you talking about."

"It does not involve you Shikamaru," he said. "This is between Kiba and I."

"What did I do?" Kiba asked.

"You, Kiba Inuzuka, seduced my Tenten into falling in love with you and the after you had her in the palm of your hands crushed her spirit. Now she is so devestated she will not even acknowledge the love we once shared."

"Alright, Lee, just stop right there," Kiba said standing up and confronting the other boy. "First of all, I didn't seduce anyone-"

"Enough!" Lee shoted. "I will punish you for this heinous crime!"

In an instant, Lee had tacled Kiba down to the ground and began to uncerimonioulsy land punches anywhere he could on the other. Kiba recovered enough to realize the predicament that he was in and began to fight back in defense. Before things were able to wrosen between the two, Shikamaru, Naruto, and even Shino stod and raced to the two boys wrestling on the floor, trying to get the upper hand of the fight. The three of them tried to stop the small battle that was going on the quickest way possible by pulling them apart.

Each time that they were able to seperate them though, one of them would break free from whomever it was that held them back and land a fist on the other's face, causing the one who was struck to retaliate. It finally ended after Kiba had headbutted Lee, causing them both to stumble back in pain. In that moment, Shino grabbed onto Lee and held him firmly back while Naruto held Kiba back with as much strength as he had. Shikamaru stayed between the two, as a gesture that no more fighting would take place.

"What the hell just happened?!" He cried out, not really asking a question but just for the sake of there not being really anything else to say.

"He tackled me! That's what happened!" yelled Kiba.

"It was a rhetorical question, Kiba!" Shikamaru yelled back at him.

"Let go of me, Shino!" Lee cried out, trying to fee himself from the other boy's grasp. "Kiba! You will pay for what you did to Tenten!"

"Like hell I will!" Kiba shouted at him, also trying to escape Naruto's hold. "What the hell did I do?! I told her when she first came up to me that I didn't like her like that! I didn't do anything!"

"Liar! You broker her! Broke her to the point where now she sells her love to men!"

Kiba stopped struggling. "What did you say?"

"It was only yesterday that I found out for myself, the horrible truth of the damage you gave her poor heart. The place she works, it is where girls turn tricks for money, Kiba. She is selling herself because of you Kiba!"

Kiba's entire body went limp in Naruto's hold. So much that Naruto let go of him some without having to fear that he would go after Lee again. He then shook Naruto of. The blonde complied with his actions and let him go. Kiba looked around at all of them before storming back to where all of their belongings were and picked his own up in one swift movement before wrenching the roof door open and storm down the steps leading back into the school.

Lee was no longer resisting Shino's hold on him. But in any case, Shino stil din't let him go. The group of four boys said nothing, more out of being at a loss of words than anything else.

"Lee." Shikamaru broke the silnce this time. "If Shino let's you go are you going to go after him?"

"I do what I must," he answered.

"I think you did enough."

"That is impossible, I have done nothing to on behalf of Tenten's honor."

"Lee, did Tenten tell you to do this?"

"Well, not exaclty no."

"Then there's nothing for you to do. Leave Kiba alone. You've done enough for today."

Lee made no reply and instead hung his head down. Waiting for his release if it was ever to come.

"Let him go, Shino," Shikamaru said.

Shino followed the order given to him and Lee stepped away from him. It was then that the bell rang, signaling that classes were to continue soon. While Lee made his way to the door, the other three shuffled back to their original spot to gather their own items.

Before Lee disappeared entirely into the doorframe, Naruto called out to him.

"Was that true?" he asked. "About Tenten?"

"It most certainly was, Naruto." With that he left.

Naruto looked back at the other two. "You think I brought that with me when I came up here?"

"Naruto," said Shikamaru. "You're not that special. You didn't bring anything."

"I was just asking," he muttered. "Damn."

All three of them hurridly gathered what they owned and descended down the staircase.

xxx

Although Sasuke did not return back to Homeroom at the end of the day, he did not stay after the final bell had rung for the remainder of Track. Instead, he quickly dressed himself out of the required uniform and back into his school uniform. As soon as he was properly attired, he went off in search of Sakura, hoping that she had not yet left the premises. It was important that he seek her out now, he was well aware of the fact that only Ino walked home with her, but he had seen the blonde girl down at the tennis courts, meaning the pinkette would be alone today. Which was more than perfect for him.

He loitered outside of the main gates, waiting patiently and scanning the mass of students making their way home. The only time his attention diverted was when Hinata passed by with Neji tailing beside her. He watched the girl from his position until she was no longer visible. Only then did he snap back to the matter at hand and continue his search for pink hair amongst the crowd.

Time passed one, fewer and fewer students were leaving the lot. Most of the one remaining were loitering around the place, waiting once again for that promised ride home that would most likely never show up and cursing themselves for believing it a second time around. In any case, Sasuke's patience was wearing thin. He was beginning to think that during his distraction she had slipped past him. Most unlikely, seeing as how Sakura was the most persistant of all his admirers, she would have made her acknowledge her somehow. Especially now that she thought he was starting to see her in a new light.

However, as the minutes ticked by, that possibility was becoming more and more proabable.

Letting out a breath of aggravation, he concluded that Sakura must not have seen him on her way out and had already gone home. He was about leave the school yard when in that instant, Tenten made her way passed him, talking away on her cell phone.

"I'm on my way now," he overheard. "I stayed after school for a bit. I was studying in the library with my friend Sakura. She was waiting for our other friend to get out of tennis practice and didn't want to be alone... I know, I'm on my way!"

The brunette strode right by him on her way out of the gates. Sasuke on the other hand, readjusted his bag and made his way back into the building. Upon entering the structure he saw the familiar bob of pink hair making her way down the staircase.

"Sasuke," she said, taken back in surprise that he was standing in front of her rather than being at his practice. "What are you doing here? Not that I don't want you to be here. I mean, if you want to be here that's great, but shouldn't you be down at the Track field?"

"I was," he said. "But I left early in order to offer you a walk home."

He face tinged pink. "I-I had no idea," she stuttered out. "If I did I would have found you immediately, I hope you weren't waiting for very long. I'm so sorry."

"It's not a problem," he said in a reassuring tone. "Maybe some other time."

"No! I mean, no, after all you went to all this trouble and.." She pulled out her cell phone and checked the time. "Besides, Ino won't get out of practice for at least another half hour, I could just run down to the changing rooms and leave a note in her locker telling her I left early."

"If that's what you want."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Sakura raced down the hall towards the changing rooms. "I'll be right back!" she yelled back to him.

Sasuke smirked to himself whilst watching the running figure dissappear out of sight. 'All I have to do is play into her fantasies,' he thought. 'Then once she secured in my grip, I'll be able to play her however I want.'

tbc. . .

(1) Another Brick reference... I really want to watch Brick. I have been ever since the last scene.. Still haven't.

A/N: Sorry that this kinda came out late. This was kind of pushed back on my priority list when stuff started happening this week. Long story short, I no longer have a Beta. That's more or less why you don't see a Beta's Note below. Yup, I have no Beta.. He's not talking to me and I don't know why and it's pissing me off. But really, this is no place to rant about this... Sorry I'm a bit out of it right now. With this shit going on and I just finished watching SLC Punk!.. I can never get through the movie without crying. As soon as it get's to the scene with Brandy's party, I'm gone.. Hell, at Chris' party I'm gone, that's just when I start feeling like crap. Makes me a bit nostalgic I think. Anyway, I'm off then. See ya guys next week.


	26. III, ii

xxx  
Scene II: "The jaws of darkness do devour it up: So quick bright things come to confusion."  
xxx

The sky outside looked dark. It didn't seem though that is was because of approaching nightfall, instead it looked as though there were storm clouds brining heavy rains. Possible a thunder storm.

Despite this, there was till a solitary figure standing out in the graveyard. A pale faced, black haired teengaed girl with a short frame, standing stiff with only her head lowered and half-lidden eyes staring down at the gravemarker below ruefully.

"It's been a while," she said. "You must've been lonley, seeing as how I'm the only one that ever comes to see you."

She sighed and moved to sit on the grass, all the while pulling out a cigarette from her case and lighting it with a match from a booklet she had stolen from the speakeasy she had just left. She inhaled the toxins, letting the mix of tobacco and nicotine calm herself and still any uneasiness she felt, and exhaled only a moment later.

"You know, my father actually banned me from coming here. Said I was clinging onto a memory that I would be better off forgetting. And the funny part is, the old lady agreed with him. Can you imagine that?"

She took another drag on the stick in her fingers and sniffled while letting out the smoke.

"It was easier for them. They don't know you like I do. Just like they'll never know me like you do. Those people that call themselves my family. That's a riot. When the hell have I ever thought of them as family? You're the only one I've ever considered real family. You were the only one that cared enough about me to think of me as more than just a tool. You didn't just use for what came naturally to me and you didn't show me off wherever you took me. You actually saw me for the child I was and treated me like a fucking human being. I'll always love you for that. Even if you did backstab me in the end."

Once more, she lifted the cigarette to her lips and inhaled.

"I want to say that," she said alongside exhaling the smoke. "I want to say that you backstabbed me. That you betrayed and abandoned me. But if I were to, I would hate myself even more."

She finished off the remnants of the cigarette before promptly lighting another one and begin her smoking routine.

"I didn't think I could ever hate myself more because of what happened to you. If I would've known what was going to happen that night, I would've said sorry earlier than I planned to."

She leaned over onto all fours and hung her head directly over the marker.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tear drops falling from behind closed eyelids. "I-I didn't mean any of it. I was so damn angry about what was happening and to hear you say those things, I just lost it, but I didn't mean any of it. I didn't want you to die. I didn't want you to leave to somewhere were I couldn't follow.

"It's selfish, I know it is, but even though I know that you weren't happy here, I was. Because I had you. You were the only one I felt actually loved me. And I, despite how incredibly horrendous it sounds, loved only you. If I must be here, then I really wish that you were here right beside me."

She lowered herself so that she rested on her side.

"Most of all," she muttered. "I wish I could have apologized before it was too late. No matter how many times I say it now, it's not the same as saying it directly to you and sincerly at that. If I had to, I at least with I could have had a proper goodbye."

Thunder sounded from a short distance and the rain began to pour. The water droplets cascaded alongside the tears falling down the sides of her face and intermingled before falling onto the cement placard she rested her head upon. Her eyes moved downwards to catch the condition of her cigarette. The rain had put it out.

She chuckled lightly. "I don't know if it's you or not, but if it is, you're an asshole."

"Hinata?"

Hinata blinked and was immediatly torn away from the story that she had begun to imagine being a part of first hand. She had let go of the page she had her fingers were pressing against, causing the manga to close instantly.

"That's just great," she muttered to herself. She looked up and saw that Sasuke was right beside her looking down into her eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "Why?"

"Well," he said. "You're crying."

Her hands shot upwards simultaneously. Her fingers skimmed the skin belwo her eyelids. She sniffled slightly with the realization that she had indeed been crying and still was. She rubbed at her cheeks in an attempt to rid herself of a tear streaked face and whatever tears were still falling freely.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It's this manga. It hits so close to home that it made me remember things I guess."

"Remembering things like what?" he questioned while sitting down across from her.

She shook her head slightly. "It's nothing that you should worry about. I'm fine."

"No, I want to know." He reached his hand over to cover hers, but Hinata retracted her hand back.

"Sasuke," she began, "I asked you to meet me here because I wanted to tell you that I'm not available anymore."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow in question. He knew very well why she was telling him this, but pushed the subjct further anyway. "What do you mean?"

Hinata sighed a little in her seat. "I'm sorry, I can't really take your proposal into consideration. What you dah told me last week, it's very flattering, but I can't be with you."

Sasuke put up the appearance that he looked hurt. "May I ask why?"

"It's just, Naruto told me that he wanted to be with me and I said yes. Well, it wasn't exaclty like that, it was more that he just asked me to wait for him and I said yes, but still, the position I'm in, I've already more of less commited myself to him. Please, understand."

"I understand the position you're in," he told her. "What I don't understand is why he asked you to wait for him when he could have just asked you to be with him right there and then."

"Well," she said. "It's because he told me that he wasn't completely sure about it so just asked me to wait for him until he came to a decision."

"Of wanting to be with you? Doesn't that seem a tad bit suspicios?"

"How so?"

"Well, think about it, I know that he's been chasing Sakura these past three years already, I've seen it first hand, now he says that he wants to be with you but not completely sure. You're not questioning that at all."

"He said that he was getting over her," she defended. "Meaning that he stopped seeing her in that light, right?"

Sasuke shrugged lightly. "It could mean that. But after three years of liking someone that long, it makes one wonder how he's able to give up like none of that even mattered. It's happening fast if you ask me."

"It is," she murmured. "But still I-"

"No, I understand that you want to be with him," he said. "He is your first love after all, and like anyone else, you're prone to want to be with the person you first fell in love with."

"Exactly," she muttered half-heartedly. "It's a great thing to be with your first love."

"Exactly," he agreed. "Even though you're not really his first love, I'm sure he's over Sakura like nothing."

"I-I don't know about nothing, but he did kiss me-"

"Right because that's the least suspicious part of it all. Doesn't that make you wonder what his motives were behind that?"

"Clarification."

"Seems more like the fine print of a contract to me."

He stood up to leave. "In any case, Hinata, I'm happy for you. I hope all is what you hope it is and you're not hurt in any way."

"And," he stated before leaving," I hope that there is no second motive behind his actions."

"Do you really think there is?" she asked him.

"It's pure speculation," he told her. "But I hope for your sake that there isn't."

He left her, sitting somewhat flabbergasted in her seat.

'Naruto isn't like that,' she thought. 'He really meant what he said. I know it.'

xxx

Naruto scaled the surface of the rootop on his skateboard during their lunch break. Kiba on the other hand sat with his back against the half wall that rimmed the ledges around the building, looking over ever now and then below for any signs of their other friends. Naruto skated over to where he sat and positioned himself in front of him, one foot still on his board.

"See anyone below?" he asked.

Kiba shook his head. "Nah. I think it's just me and you today."

Naruto stepped off altogether and took a seat next to him. He noticed that the brunette had yet to eat any of his lunch.

"Hungry much?"

Again, Kiba shook his head. "You want it?"

"No thanks," the blonde answered. He took some time to study his friend while packing away his uneaten food. "You okay?"

Kiba shrugged. "Physically, I'm all good, but this Tenten thing has me a bit messed up." He looked over to Naruto. "Have you told anyone what Lee said?"

Naruto quickly shook his head in the negative respsonse. "I-I don't think we should say anything about it to anyone. I mean, it's not something that would really be.. good to say." He looked over at Kiba. "What do you think?"

"The same thing.. more or less." Kiba looked down into his lap. "Is.. it it really my fault.. that.. that sh-she started.. y'know, doing.. that?"

Naruto opened his moth to give hima reply, but was cut off before being able to sound out anything.

"I mean," Kiba continued. "She knew I like someone-"

"Wait," Naruto cut him off. "That someone isn't Hinata, is it?"

"What does that matter?" he asked him.

"Because I didn't want to think that was true when Tenten told me."

"When did you talk with Tenten?"

"Like, I don't know, about a week or so ago. Maybe longer?"

"And she told you that I like Hinata? Was she already working then?"

"Yeah," said Naruto. "She was on her way then, but I didn't know that she was doing that. I was meeting Hinata at the bookshop and that's when she told me that you liked her for about as long as she liked me."

Kiba stared at him. "So you know now that Hinata likes you?"

"Yes, and I've already gone over the fact that I was the only one who didn't know. Kiba, how much do you like her?"

"Hinata?"

"Yes!"

"Why is that important?"

"Because now I'm in like with her."

"What?!" Kiba shouted and stood up. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"For awhile now, I've been thinking, and I just figured that I really like her. And you know what, Kiba, I don't really care if you're pissed at me because that's the honest to God truth and I don't care. I like her and she already said that until I was sure of everything, she would wait for me."

Kiba looked down at him. A few minutes passed by before he said anything. "I'm not pissed."

"What?" Naruto asked. "I'm sorry did I hear you right?"

"I'm not pissed," the other repeated. "I'm kinda surprised too."

"I thought you would be uber pissed. I mean, I thought you liked her."

Kiba said nothing at first and just looked down at his feet. "I do and the first thing that I thought was that I should kick your ass, but then I thought about Hinata and, I would rather have her happy than me be happy."

Naruto stared up at him. "That's... really awesome of you."

Kiba sat back down next to him. "I guess." He sighed. "It's about damn time someone broke this fucking cycle."

Naruto looked over at him oddly. "What are you talking about?"

"Haven't you seen it? I realized it about two days ago when Lee came busting up here. He likes Tenten, who likes me, who likes Hinata, who likes you, who liked Sakura, who like Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes widened a bit. "That's.. pretty twisted. How long has that been going on."

Kiba shrugged. "I don't know, but it kind of sucks when you think about it."

"Hey, who do you think Sasuke likes?"

"I don't know, but I really don't care."

"Wouldn't that be a trip if it looped back and he ended up liking Lee?" the blonde laughed.

Kiba laughed as well. "That would be something."

They sat next to each other in a comfortable silence.

"So," Kiba said. "You don't like Sakura anymore."

"I'm pretty sure I'm over her," he answered. "The more I think about it, the more I just want to give up on her."

"Finally, it was getting kind of sad watching you throw yourself at her."

"I wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, you were," Kiba laughed.

"At least I did something," the other defended.

"I guess... You think in other places, there are other people who have this exact same problem?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied. "I'm pretty sure we're not the only ones that are stuck in something like this. But at the same time I think there are a lot more who aren't."

"Lucky sons of bitches," Kiba muttered.

"Not neccessarily," Naruto told him. "I mean, they could easily be stuck in a different type of vicious cycle. One that's complete with drugs, suicide, homicide, and revenge. Where the main character has to deal with not only what's going on in the present, but also needs to deal with the ghosts from the past, especially when the parents aren't doing anything to help any but instead is just making it all the worse by belittiling and making light of the situation. Not to mention the complete lack of interest in their life by not even considering that something wrong is going on. So it's like depression mixed with self-laothing but at the same time trying to overcome that for the sake of others' safety because other than that one person who treated the main character like family were the friends that became a second family, which is closer than any of their real families, who are the ones that are actually helping out and trying to overcome all of their pasts together because they all know what it's like to have a broken home, or a neglectfull mother, or an abusive father, or to just be used as a tool in order to gain noriety in the community. And not only that, but also being involved in a somewhat gang war where the antagonist is desperatley trying to seek revenge against the protaganist by any means possible, and that includes murder or at least an extreme pain induced beatings directed at members of said second family because the antagonist knows that whatever is done to the protagonist themselves, wouldn't do anything, and in order for anything to effect the protagonist they go through the family to hurt the protagonist and cause them even more emotional pain then what they were feeling before because then the protagonist feels nothing but guilt because they know it was their fault that all of this is being done to those they love because of what happened years before any of this actually took place. I think when caught up in a situation like that something like "who's in like with who?" is just a little more trivial and completely unimportant."

Kiba stared at the the blonde blankly.

"It's, um, this manga I'm reading," he explained after catching the Kiba's blank stare. "It's.. set in the 1920's."

Kiba shook his head slowly. "You're insane."

Naruto took the thought into consideration briefly. "Probably."

"No, no, you're out of your mind fucking crazy."

Naruto laughed. "If I say that I am does that mean that I'm completely aware that I am crazy? And if I'm aware of that, does that mean that I'm not as crazy as I thought I was, because can crazy people acknowledge that they are crazy?"

"You know what?" Kiba said. "I'm just gonna stop talking to you."

They settled back into a silence.

"You hurt her, I'll kill you."

Naruto looked over at him. "I won't."

"Good. Although, that might be good news for me."

Naruto shook his head. "Ya know Kiba, why didn't try to get her before. I'm pretty sure that as close as you two are, you could've romanced her your way."

Kiba shrugged. "I was thinking about that too. I guess, I just thought she was too involved with you that I thought that I didn't stand a chance."

"Or," Naruto countered. "It could mean that you never really loved her like that."

"What are you talking about."

"There are other variations of love, Kiba. That much I do know because I do love all of you guys, but I'm not in love with all of you. Except Hinata."

"So now you're in love with her."

"That's the way it's looking, but I still don't want to jinx anything."

Naruto got up. "It's already halfway through lunch. I got to get going."

"Where are you going?"

"Meeing Hinata in the library, she said she had something big to show me."

Kiba nodded. "I'll see ya later then."

"Yeah."

Naruto picked up his things and headed off for the door. Kiba looked him even long after he had disappeared through the doorframe.

'Different variations of love, huh? Well, I'll think about it.'

xxx

Sakura hummed lightly to herself while stacking her books in a neat pile within her locker. Afterwards, she checked her reflection in the mirror she hung up against the locker door. Almost satisified with her appearance, she noted that her teeth could stand to be a little whiter, she closed her locker shut and was promptly greeted with an upset looking Ino.

"What the hell is going on?" the blonde pointedly questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked in return.

"First, you ditch me, and don't say you didn't because leaving behind a vague note telling me that you were leaving early is the same as ditching," Ino began to list using her fingers to count off her points, "Second, you aren't picking up your phone when I call, and I know you're ignoring them because they go through and then I get your voicemail. Three, we have all these classes and the only time I ever hear anything from you is when you need something. Four, you're not even sitting next to me. Five, I saw you with Sasuke in the Student Council Room in a very cuddly looking hug. Six, he's actually taking more notice of you then usual. Seven, you make lovey eyes at him and he's actually accepting them. And eight, Tenten told me that she saw you and him walking together holding hands. That, my dear, is what I'm talking about. So, by all means, correct me if I'm wrong in asking, what the hell is going on?"

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her. "What, are you like keeping tabs on me now?"

"No," said Ino. "It's called detailed observation and it's only used when one best friend stops talking to another best friend about drastic changes in their lives."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're being to damn exaggerated. It happend two days ago."

"Which makes me worry all the more," she told her. "Never in all of our history together have you just stopped talking to me and now all of a sudden it happens? What the hell, Sakura? As far as I know, I have done nothing to piss you off so badly that you would stop talking to me."

"It's nothing you did, alright? I just need some alone time is all."

"Like hell you do! Did you forget that I listed off that I've seen you with Sasuke and if you need alone time, I don't think that you're spending it alone. What the hell are you doing with him?"

"Can you stop saying 'hell'? There's no reason to be that angry with me."

"Okay, I'm not angry with you, I'm upset with the fact that there is something going on with you that is major and I am in the dark about it. And it's not only this, there are other things that I'm pissed about when it comes to you not telling me anything. And no, I will not stop saying 'hell' because I am so pissed off at the moment that I don't give a flying rat's ass about what swears come out of my mouth. Hell, you're lucky that I haven't started saying 'fuck' yet. Oh, well, there it is, and since I've said why don't I just rephrase the last question and ask, what the fuck are you doing with Sasuke?"

A small smuggish smirk wove it's way onto Sakura's face. "Why is it that you want to know Ino-pig, are you jealous?"

It was Ino's turn to roll her eyes. "Of fucking course not. Curious and concered, yes. But not jealous, never jealous. I've already told you that I'm over him, I no longer wish to chase after him, I'm over it."

"Yes, you did say that to me once, but I still think that you're trying to play me."

"For what fucking purpose, Sakura?!" Ino cried out and slammed a fist into the locker door she stood in front of, causing some people to look over their way. "I've said it as plain as I could, and you still don't believe me. I don't like him. Did I at one point? Yes. Will I ever again though? No, I won't."

"If you don't, then why the hell are you up in my face about it?" the pinkette retorted.

"Because I don't fucking understand why he's giving you so much damn attention and I don't fucking trust him."

"He's giving me so much damn attention, Ino, because we're dating."

Ino was litteraly taken aback. She almost fell backwards by the words Sakura had spoken. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, we're dating," Sakura repeated. "He didn't want me to tell anyone, otherwise I would have rubbed it in your face."

Ino shook her head. "That's not right, why would Sasuke go for you? Don't take that the wrong way, there's nothing wrong with you. It's just, he likes Hinata."

"Are you still on about that? My God, Ino, let that go, you were just making things up in your head."

"There's no fucking way I imagined what I saw," Ino told her. "Alright, to me it's a clear fact that he likes her."

"Well it's wrong! Because he's with me!"

Sakura took her bag up and stormed past the blonde girl, making sure that she bumped her shoulder back while doing so. Ino instantly turned around to her retreating figure and called out her name.

"Did he say that he was with you, or did you just assume that?"

Sakura slowed in her step and almost came to a complete halt. She quickly shook off the feeling that what Ino had just said given her and continued on her way. Ino on the other hand was beginning to become more and more agitated with this stunning revelation.

'I know what I saw and I know that I wasn't making it up,' her mind rationalized. 'If it's one thing I've learned from spying on Sasuke during my fangirl days, it's that he never settles for second best. And as sad as it is for me to say, Sakura, that is exactly what you are to him if not less.'

She turned to leave in the opposite direction, going after Sakura at the moment wasn't going to help their friendship any. Upon turning towards said direction, she saw the one person that she really didn't need nor want to see at the time being. Uchiha Sasuke strode down the very middle of the hallway with that emotinless expression that Ino herself had at one time found incredibly attractive, but now just found extremely irritating.

'No fucking way am I letting him get away with whatever the fuck he's doing.'

Ino straighted her posture and with her head held high marched straight towards the oncoming boy. She stopped directly in front of him and for some reason, instead of continuing on past her, he stopped as well. They stood rooted to their spots, moments passed before either one made any type of movement.

Sasuke made to say something but was instantly cut off by Ino herself.

"Shut up," she said hurridley. "I don't listen to what you're going to say, and I don't want to hear anything that comes out of your mouth. I do, however, want you to listen to what I'm saying. I know that you like Hinata. Don't even try to deny that, because if it's one thing I'm very good at deciphering, it's just exactly who likes who when they're trying to hide it, and byt the way your eyes widened, however slightly, when I said that, you just made it all the more obvious for me.

"Knowing that much, I can't help but wonder what the hell you're doing with Sakura, who seems to think that you two are dating but I know there is no way in hell you would ever do that, which leads me to think that you are indeed using her for something. What exactly, I don't know, and how, still not sure, but I'm guessing that whatever you're up to it's because now that Naruto seems to responding to Hinata's feeling towards him, finally, you're scared that now you're going to be losing her even more to him. That's the why, but I'm not really interested in that.

"Is there the possibility that you're dating her for real and just don't want anyone to know? There is, but I still don't think that likely. And because I think that, let me just tell you, Sasuke, if you use her and then throw her away, and make her even more fucked up then she is now, I will, and I mean I fucking will, get back at you for doing that."

Her stature slumped a little, but she quickly straightened herself again. She sidestepped around him and started walking at an even pace.

Sasuke turned halway around. "Big words for a fangirl."

Ino spun and fixed a glare on him. "I'm not your fangirl anymore, and I haven't been for a long time now. Acting like one and actually being one are two completely different things. I meant what I said. You fuck with my friends, I'll hurt you."

She piveted back around sharply and stormed off. Showing that she was more upset than she wanted to let off. The whole thing left Sasuke amused. Just to spite the blonde girl that had just left, he hurried off to find Sakura. Now was the time that he felt he should ask her just exactly how much she loved him, and to what extent.

xxx

"Naruto."

The blonde boy turned his and saw Sakura standing near him.

"Hey," he greeted cheerfully. "Aren't you going back to Homeroom?"

"Yeah, I am," she said. "But I wanted to ask you something first."

"What is it?" he asked, totally curious by now.

"Well," she started. "I was thinking that, we've been friends for so long and I don't really know you like I should for a friend. So, why don't we go out tomorrow, just the two of us and get to know each other?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Like, a date?"

Sakura shrugged. "If you want to call it that."

Naruto flushed a little. "Uh.. I don't know if I should."

Her face fell a little. "Oh, well I just thought, 'cause, well you've been after me for so long, I just thought that I would give it a shot."

"It's not that I wouldn't want to Sakura," he said quickly. "It's just that I'm already kinda in this commitment thing with Hinata, it's not really dating-"

"Well, if it's not dathing, then why not? It's not like you're doing anything wrong."

Naruto blinked. "True, but-"

"I said you could call it a date if you wanted to," she told him. "It doesn't have to be. It could just be like an outing. Hanging out with another friend, y'know?"

Naruto took in what she had just said. "Yeah, you're right. What did you have in mind?"

She shrugged. "Karaoke at the juice bar?"

"Yeah, that's.. that'll be cool."

"Alright then, how 'bout Friday?"

"Yeah, Friday's good for me."

"Friday it is then," she said cheerfully. "I look forward to it."

She leaned in and pecked his cheek with a kiss before skipping off back to Homeroom. Naruto's hand went up to the spot where her lips touched his skin and hovered around the area before he fell back into the rwo of lockers he had been standing in front of.

'What the hell did I just do?' he asked himself. 'No, I didn't do anything wrong. It's not like it's a date and anyway, I'm not really dating Hinata. Nah, I just told her that I like her and wanted to be with her and raised her hopes... Stop thinking like that, I'm not doing anything wrong, because it's not even a date.'

He stepped out of his small internal conflict in time to see another girl nearing him.

Hinata hadn't seen him at first while making her way towards her locker, but after readjusting the bag on her shoulder, she looked up and saw Naruto looking in her direction. She waved at him and walked over to him.

'If I'm doing nothing wrong,' he thought, 'then why do I feel incredibly guilty now that I see her?'

"Are you okay?" she asked as soon as she was by his side. "You look out of it."

"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine, just.. I think I'm going to go home already."

"Are you sick?" Her eyebrows furrowed in concern which made the pang in his gut feel even worse.''

"I think I'm just a bit exhausted is all," he told her. "I'll see you later."

He stood up from his slump and grabbed his bag up from the floor along with his board.

"Feel better soon," she said.

He looked into her face and noted the sincerity that was shown. "Thanks. I will."

He moved past her and made his way to the front entrance of the school. It was a lot easier leaving from the front exit then it was to exit out anywhere else. No one ever thought that when a student ditched they would go for the main gate, which was why security was always tighter at the side entrances. knowing this, that's exactly what Naruto did.

He glanced back and saw that Hinata was still looking after him.

'I'm pretty sure I'm not doing anything wrong,' was his last thought before losing sight of her.

xxx

In a flash Kiba took off running. He had just spotted Lee, and after spending an awkwards, for him anyway, English class with Tenten, wanted to speak with the bow.

"Lee!" he shouted out.

Lee stopped and turned. He saw Kiba running towards him and promplty put his guard up. Kiba skidded to a stop in front of him, hunched over a bit, trying to catch his breath.

"I don't want to fight you," he gasped out after noticing the way Lee was standing.

"Then why did you come after me?" Lee asked. "You know very well that I have not yet made you pay7 for the terrible crime you have done against Tenten."

"Lee, shut the fuck up for a minute and let me talk." Kiba stood up again and slumped his shoulders back. "'Kay, Lee, you gotta understand that I didn't do anything that made Tenten like me like that, alright? I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything to steal your girlfriend, I didn't even know she was your girlfriend. But, I do want to talk with her and stuff. Just so, y'know, get things straight between the three of us, but I don't want to do it here, to many people that might get in the way."

"Then where do you think we should speak?"

"I don't know," Kiba shrugged. "Um, what about Friday? I'd do it tomorrow, but I can't, and we can catch her before she goes to.. work."

Even though he hadn't exactly said what she was doing, knowing what it implied left a bad taste in his mouth.

Lee nodded sharply. "Alright then. And Friday you had best apologize for what you led her to."

"I'll do it," said Kiba. "I.. I just don't want to feel guilty anymore."

"Friday then, this will be settled once and for all."

With that statement, Lee left, walking away on his intended route. Kiba turned to backtrack onto his normal route home. The two of them both wondering what it was tomorrow would bring.

tbc . . .

A/N: It seems like without my regular caffeine intake, I've gone from insomniac to narcoleptic. It's a bit of a problem really. Anyway, I am extremely, extremely happy this morning, for no real good reason and that's absolutely brilliant. It might be because I saw Brick this week! Woo! That scene with Brendan and Brain in the library, love it, I'll never forget those moments. That's probably why I'm partial to libraries. If you've noticed, a lot of things happen either on a rooftop or in a library. I also like the part with Brendan and the Pin on the beach... When he said that thing about Tolkein, I just knew. Hm. But anyway, I am very happy to be alive at the moment. Let's see how long this last shall we? -laugh- So then, new chapter up. Woot! Um, sorry if anyone other than Allan pike thought that the summary and prolouge was going to be in the last chapter, I didn't mean for anyone to think that. The scene with the prolouge won't be until, so far it looks like scene nine but it might be eight, depends on how I arrange things, but the good news is that the summary **will** be said in the next chapter. So.. place your bets now! And, because I can't really make replies to annonymous reviewers unless e-mail's are left,

Hali-chan: For some odd reason, I like you. It's like I have people cheering for NaruHina and you're all for her ending up with Sasuke who a lot of people are kind of fearing and booing right now. It's different, and I like that. Does that mean that I'm saying this will end in SasuHina, no, of course not. But I'm not saying that this will end in NaruHina either, I'm not gonna say who ends up with who. Only one person knows a definite couple and I hope that he won't say anything, because it'll kind of kill the suspense that's about to be brought. But anyway, I like your insight, so thanks for the review.

misa-chan: Yes! It was a South Park reference. I wondered briefly if anyone would have caught that. I love that episode because it has all the goth kids talking about all the conformists in the world. My fave part is the part where Stan says, "How do I become a non-conformist?" and that one kid says, "All you have to do is dress like us and listen to the same music we do.". I woke up the enitre house with my laughing. And for catching that, here, it's a cyber cookie!

One last thing, anyone know any songfics with Mr. Brightside? For some odd reason I'm a bit obsessed with the song right now. So much that actually this entire chapter was written while listening to it over and over and over again. The scary thing is, I'm still not sick of it. Anyway though, I wanted to read one and instead of searching, just decided to ask. So that's all for now, I gotta partay to plan, peace out ya'll!

beta's note: guess who's back. back again. ya know all is right in the world when she doesn't shut the hell up and i have nothing to say because she's said it all. (is poked in the back) right right right i gotta do this thing as a punishment for being a (reads paper handed to him) "bigger jerk off than the one time at the zoo with that monkey."... oh my god i remember that monkey!!! anyway "sorry for sounding like a jackass at the intermission what laith stresses out over is none of my business and should learn to nevermind the bollocks."... nice usage of album names there laith. whatever i'm back and that's all that matters. you know you wish you had my job!!! later!!!


	27. III, iii

xxx  
Scene III: "He saith she is immodest, blames her 'miss; What follows more she murders with a kiss."  
xxx

Love, a word that many try to define, but never really can. This four letter word, so simple in spelling, is noted as one of the greatest complexities in the world. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, well known websites, even first hand accounts, all attempt to give some sort of whole definition and all come short at doing so. Love is not something that can be explained so easily. Even those who seem to think they comprehend the meaning, know nothing of the sort. As far as History can tell, no one has come close to understanding Love as a whole.

This one word in such a small size, has the power to create and destroy. To inflict joy and much sorrow, cause a time for celebration or cause a complete devestation unto one person's soul. Those four letters strung together should never be thrown around lightly. Especially towards another person.

In the right context that one word will make someone extremely happy. Said in a hurtfull manner, and it will cause so much hurt that the most dreadfull of all physical pain will never match up to it.

To love, both a blessing and a curse. Desire, passion, suspicion, jealousy, anger, betrayal, all these and more are able to stem from Love. Combine that with the selfish nature of humanity, well, it would be better to not believe in Love at all.

Though, the cynics that don't believe in Love are the majority of the ones aiming for a clear definition and logical explanation in an attempt to gain infinite knowledge when really the first sign of attaining infnite knowledge, is realizing that absolutely nothing has been learnt. It ridiculous, thinking that Love could be explained rationally. Using logical words and terms an argument does not make. Sound reasoning is only accomplished once whatever is being argued over has been experienced.

Still, the truth of the matter is, despite all cynical observation and romantic interludes, for millions of those living in the world Love is expeirenced at least once in each life time and in that speck of eternity there is not one point where all aspects of the emotion would be understood by any one person.

To make matters even more difficult, there is more than one variation of love.

The most commonly known is to be _in _love with another. Others being love between friends, love between parents and their children, love between siblings, mentor to apprentice, teacher to student (which is actually somewhat the same as the previous), so on and so forth. All with their own symbology and annoyingly enough being confused with some other variation.

In any case, the fact that there are different variations of Love is exactly what Kiba was contemplating in his bedroom Thursday night.

Having just arrived home from work, Kiba changed into what he considered his sleeping clothes and hit the play button on his stereo, turning the volume down but still keeping it at an audible level. There was no particular reason behind the music, just something to make noise in the background. With a tired sigh, he fell back onto his matress and stared lazily at the ceiling above.

"It's no good," he said to himself. "I can't stop thinking. Doesn't matter what I do, I keep thinking of what Naruto and I keep thinking of what Tenten asked me all those days ago."

He rolled over onto his stomach and started to mumble into his pillow. "I'm beginning to question if I really do love Hinata like I thought I have all these years. Stupid Naruto for talking about differect kinds of love and stupid love for being so damn confusing... It's true though I guess. There being like different types of love. I mean, I love my sister and I love my mom but I don't think I would want to date either one 'cause that would be kinda creepy. So yeah, I guess you can love someone without being in love with them.

"And I guess that's just making me second guess stuff. Like... Okay, let me try to figure this out. So... Hinata. Well, ever since the Hanabi thing I've always been the one to look after her, well, before Neji came but still. But I guess I never really thought that I loved her until, later? I unno. But.. Like through all that though, maybe I didn't really love her love her... damn double phrases. But whatever, I knew that I loved her enough to only care about her and to hell with whatever I wanted. Maybe in that sense I wasn't _in_ love with her but I still did love her, do love her. Just not like boyfriend/girlfriend love. More like brother/sister love. Yeah, like, maybe I just love her as an older brother... Kinda explains why I didn't do anything to get her with me... I feel.. like a whole lot more comfortable with that... So.. I'm not in love with her... I'm not _in_ love with her."

He jumped up onto his knees. "I'm not in love with her!"

Suddenly, there were a series of loud knocking coming from the other side of the wall. "Shut up over there! Damn Kiba, stop talking to yourself!"

Kiba growled in aggravation at his sister's exclamation. "Dammit, can't I have some privacy around here!"

"If I can't, what makes you think you can?!" his sister shouted back.

"You'd have all the privacy you want if you got the hell out of here!"

Nothing more came from the other room. Kiba smirked, thinking that he had finally gotten her to shut up. It quickly slipped away though, once he heard her feet thumping rapidly against the floor, and her door being yanked open.

Faster than ever before, he jumped off the bed and desperately tried to reach his door before her and lock it securely. Key word there was _tried_.

xxx

"I just heard something that I think you would like to know."

Hinata looked up from the book in front of her. She turned her head to the right, in the direction she had heard the speech come from.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke was slightly leaning against the boockcase Hinata stood in front of. He tilted his head slightly in her direction.

"We seem to meet up here a lot," he said. "Don't we?"

She shrugged slightly. "Is seems like it. What are you doing here?"

"I could very well ask you the same thing."

"Not really, but in any case, I'm here with Tenten. I'm helping her for the English test she has next."

"Thoughtfull," he muttered.

"I'd like to think so," she said. "And you?"

He pushed himself off of the shelves behind and moved closer tp her. "Looking for you. Heard some talk going around the grapevine, thought you'd like to know."

"Know what exactly?" she asked slowly. Hinata closed the book that was still in her hands, now giving him her full attention.

"I know exactly what it is," he said carefully. "What Naruto is doing, by having you wait like this."

"And why is that?"

"He's also playing the same game with Sakura."

Her heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"Sakura," he told her. "He has a date with her tonight. If you're interested to know, I'm sure I could dig up where and what time."

Hinata shook her head franticaly. "No. There's no way that Naruto would do something like that."

"Oh, come one, Hinata." Sasuke reached over and placed each one of his hands onto her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye while he continued to speak. "It fits doesn't it? After years of chasing one girl, and suddenly gives up for someone, I'm sorry to say, he's never noticed in that light before? Doesn't that make it a little questionable? And if he has indeed given up on a girl that he was supposedly in love with, then doesn't that say something about his take on the matter? Or is it more likely that he hasn't given up on her but is also using you as a fall back because he's finally realized that you've liked him for so long and is able to play on that?"

Hinata clenched her eyes shut and shook her head again. Not wanting to even hear what he was saying. "Why are you telling me this?!"

Sasuke let go of his hold on her shoulders and used a hand to cup her chin up. "I'm telling you this because, because I love you too much to see you get hurt. I would rather you know by me, then find out by any other way."

He leaned in, as to kiss her. She moved her head back, avoiding the contact.

Sasuke dropped his hand with a small sigh. "I would never hurt you, Hinata. I would only love you as you should be."

He moved back from her and without another word walked away, disappearing behind a shelf of books. Hinata was left behind with her confused thoughts, taking many moments to gather her wits and return to the table she left Tenten at.

When Hinata had settled into the seat that she had occupied before browsing, Tenten looked up from her notbook and stopped writing. She glanced over at the other girl and noticed the slightly glazed over expression evident in her eyes. She stared at the other girl curiously before speaking up.

"What's up?"

Hinata turned to her, still somewhat at a loss from her recent conversation with Sasuke.

"Huh?" she asked.

Tenten put down the pencil in her hand and leaned over a bit to the other girl.

"You okay?" Tenten inquired.

"Hinata looked at her blankly. "Uh.. yeah, yes. Yes, I am. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Tenten replied. "What happened?"

Hinata said nothing at first. After contemplating her question for a few moments before looking at Tenten squarely and asking," Do you think Naruto would be the type to date two girls at the same time?"

Tenten blinked at the question. Clearly, that wasn't what she thought Hinata would have said.

"Uh... Well, he seems like he would think he would be able to," she answered. "But, I don't think he actually would. He's like, Mr. Nobility or something like that. Why ya asking?"

"Something I head," Hinata said. "It sounded wrong, but it had me thinking. It kind of makes sense too though. Why else would he avoid me like nothing sometimes?"

The final sentence was said more to herself than it was to Tenten. Nontheless, the brunette answered her anyway.

"Maybe it still has to do with knowing that you like him. He was avoiding you for, like that entire week when he first found out."

Hinata nodded meekly. "Could be." Just then, what Tenten had just said hit her and took its effect. "Wait, what?! He found out that I liked him?!"

It was Tenten's turn to nod. "Yeah, which is weird to me 'cause I thought after finding out he would have swept you off your feet by now. Or something like that."

Hinata's eyes went wider than they ever had before. "How did he find out?"

"I told him," Tenten said bluntly. "I thought you guys were already dating."

"Oh my God." Hinata sunk her face into her hands, flushing with embarassment. "And he's known all this time?!"

Suddenly, she leapt up from her seat and collected her things together.

"I need to go find him," she said. "I'm sorry, Tenten. Good luck on the test though."

She quickly left the table before the brunette was able to say anything. Though Hinata felt bad for leaving Tenten like she did, her main priority at the moment was finding Naruto and disproving everything that Sasuke had said to her. Being right outside of the library, the first place she decided to check was the school's rooftop.

She hurried up the staircase and crashed through the door. She was promptly greeted with a noodle to the face.

"Oh snap, Hinata, I'm sorry," Kiba called out to her while she wiped her face clean of the food.

"Kiba, why are you throwing food?" she questioned, sounding a bit irritated.

"I thought you were Naruto," he answered sheepishly. "Sorry."

"I told you that you shouldn't have thrown it anyway," Neji scolded him.

Hinata brow furrowed. "Naruto's not up here?"

"No," Kiba told her. "He left with Sakura somewhere. He said he was coming back but that was ages ago."

"How many ages ago?" she asked.

Kiba shrugged. "I dunno, just ages."

With a slightly frustrated groan, Hinata went back throught the door and went back down the staircase, skipping many while doing so. She somewhat ran through the hallways, looking for anyone that could help her out. Going down to the second floor, she ran into Shikamaru climbing upwards.

"Shikamaru," she called out. "Have you seen Naruto?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Have you seen Chouji?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said. "I haven't."

She kept going downwards with her head turning left and right in a constant search. Then another familiar figure made their appearance in front of her.

"Lee!" she yelled to grab his attention.

Lee looked up and saw the girl running towards him, not out of breath but still breathing rather heavily.

"Hinata," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen Naruto?" she asked.

"Yes, I have actually," he told her.

A smile broke out onto her face. "Really? Where?"

"He was with Sakura not long ago," Lee said. "She was dragging him off somewhere, though I'm sorry to say that I do not know where."

The smile she held slipped away in an instant. "Oh. Thank you, Lee. That was helpfull anyway. Excuse me."

She turned back around and started to run again. This time back to the library.

'Okay, now it's pretty obvious that he might have thought that I liked him to some degree when he said all that stuff to me,' she thought. 'But I didn't think that he knew that I liked to such an extent. So he knows that I've like him for so long now, but I don't understand why it's taking him so long to figure out if he wants a relationship with me. I figured it was only because he was so sure on my part, but if he knows that much then what else is there? I need someone to help me figure this out. I need to talk to someone who knows more than me.'

With that final thought she ran even faster. Hoping the entire time that Sasuke was still in the library.

xxx

He couldn't break it. The hold of everything that he had been taking. It should have been easy to quit, that's what he was told. But, somewhere along the line, Chouji had slipped into addiction and it didn't seem like he would be able to get out of the hole that he had dug himself in. The worst part, he was still in denial and wanted no help.

Which was the reason behind his current hiding position in a bathroom stall. He needed to escape from Shikamaru's prying eye. Though Chouji understood why his friend would think that he needed help, there didn't seem to be anyway that he could get Shikamaru to comprehend the situation. As far as Chouji was concerned, he wasn't addicted to anything. The hallucinations that he had been having were connected with whatever illness that he had and because he had also introduced L into his system, he conluded that maybe quitting cold turkey like that would be impossible. If he was going to quit, he would have to do it gradually.

But he wasn't, therefore there was no need to stop doing anything gradually.

Of course, Shikamaru wouldn't hear anything of the kind and insisted that he watch over him 24/7. Which was really starting to irritate Chouji to no end. If it wasn't for the small packets of Speed that he had hidden carefully throughout his room, he wouldn't have been able to take it.

That was all he had left really. With Shikamaru guarding over him like a hawk, there was no way that he would be able to meet Kankuro for an exchange. Whatever Shikamaru had overlooked with his first sweep of his room, he had to start rationing it so that it lasted longer than it should have. What he was able to use per day wasn't much, and it was beginning to have less and less of an effect on him. The insatiable craving to use more would kick in, and with whatever will power he had, he would supress it until he was exhausted and too tired to care much.

Though he had already taken what he saved for today earlier in the morning, he needed another fix. Something to dull the pain that he was feeling. An emotional scar left by Ino just moments before running in here.

He had seen Ino by herself in the hallway, looking at the flyers and posters that were hung on the bulleteins in front of the main office. With as much courage as he could muster, he decided that now would be the time where he would tell her everything. It was a Friday, they could leave straight from school to somewhere were she to accept him. That in itself gave him what he needed to approach her.

Their conversation started lightly enough. But it was at the moment that he had finally been able to bring himself to ask her his most important question that it happened. Ino's expression had turned from happy to something along the lines of destructive. Chouji turned around and saw what had caused it. Sakura and Naruto were walking down towards them. Usually, there would seem to be nothing wrong with this, but even Chouji could tell that there was something different about the way that Sakura was acting towards the blonde boy. Almost as though she was showing some sort of romantic affection for him.

Before he could voice this, Ino stormed past him and immediately confronted Sakura.

"What the hell are you up to?" Ino demanded of the other girl.

"What now?" Sakura asked. "What conspiracy could you possibly come up with now?"

Ino ingnored her rebutal questions and turned to Naruto. "Naruto, I don't know if you know that Sasuke-"

A hard and echoing slap cut her off. An impressive red mark began to form on her cheek and Sakura's hand was still extened out from her action. Slowly, Ino brought her face back forward and glared at the pinkette. Within seconds, Ino had a fistfull of pink hair in her grip and pulling roughly. Sakura's pained scream brought bystanders to gather around.

In defense, Sakura reached one arm out and grabbed at a fistfull of Ino's own hair and tugged back with twice as much force. Ino cried out and forecefull shoved Sakura back into one of the walls. With her free hand, Sakura attempted to claw at Ino's face. Ino dodged the attack swiftly, allowing Sakura to claw at nothing but air. Both angry and slightly embarassed that her attack failed, Sakura tugged at the blonde hair again while simultaneously kicking her opponent.

Their fight went back and forth in such manner. No one dared to interupt it, not even the sensei's whose attention was brought to this. In their opinion, they would probably be in excrutiating pain by the time anyone of them would be able to pry the two apart. It was only when Tsunade herself was forced out of her office and into the middle of the spectacle that anything productive was down with the matter at hand.

With tossled hair and disheveld clothes, the two girls glared across from each other while they were being reprimanded wth a very loud and stern voice.

"She attacked me first!" Sakura cried out and pointed at Ino.

"Liar, you slapped me!" Ino shouted back.

"You were hassaling me!"

"I wasn't even going to talk to you!"

"You were going to say crap about me!"

"Y'know what?! I've had it up to here with you! If you want to fuck up your life, then go ahead!"

Ignoring all shouts directed at her to come back, Ino marched off in her own direction. Chouji followed her, hoping that he might be able to help her out right now.

"Ino," he called out.

Ino turned sharply and gave him a cold stare. "Goddammit, Chouji, what the hell do you want?! I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not in any mood to put up with your bullshit so just get the hell away from me and go stuff yourself with a bag of chips or something and leave me the fuck alone!"

Though it hadn't been a direct rejection, it felt like one enough to him as he watched her storm off to whatever destination that she had in mind. At that moment all he thought was that he needed something to ease the pain in his chest. All of that leads back to him hiding out in a bathroom stall, away from the events that had just taken place and away from Shikamaru's observant gaze.

Not having anything that would allow him to smoke his dependency, he had to opt for mixing it with a liquid. He searched through his bag and found a bottle of juice that he had brought from home. Pouring whatever he had left over from that morning, he shook the bottle so that it would spread out evenly and drank the contents as he pleased.

Chouji began to relax as the familiar effects started to take place. His last lucid thought being that with his stock now completely wiped, he needed to rid himself of Shikamaru somehow and meet Kankuro later for more.

xxx

Kiba stuffed his hands into his pockets, the wind had just picked up and it was traveling with a strong gusto. His fingers felt they would freeze if they didn't find some source of heat. Kiba looked upwards to the sky. It was darker than it should have been.

"I think it's gonna rain," he said to no one in particular.

Lee looked up as well. "Yes, it does seem as though it will."

Kiba looked back down with a heavy sigh. They had been standing out in the open for at least half an hour now and there was still no sign of Tenten anywhere. He was about to turn to Lee and suggest that perhaps they had missed her and should try another day instead of standing out in the freezing cold. But when he turned to the other boy, all he saw was Lee hop off of the half wall they were sitting on and start running. Kiba followed suit.

His eyes were solely fixed on Lee, but as they neared the corner, he saw that Tenten was there at the street light, waiting for the signal to change so that she would be able to cross.

"Tenten!"

Tenten's head whipped up from reading a message on her phone. She groaned, both a bit angry and annoyed that once again Lee was here waiting for her.

"Lee," she started, not bothering to hide that fact that she was irritated with him being there, "how many times have I told you to stay away from this place? This doesn't have anything to do with you."

At that point she had just realized whoelse was coming towards her. Tenten's eyes widened and she gasped, turned and practically smashing her hand against the pedestrian button, praying that the light would change already. She even contemplated to just cross and leave the outcome to God. But alas, to no avail did the traffic light hear her plea. Tenten could hear Kiba's footfalls come to a stop, slowly she turned back around and faced the two boys.

"Kiba," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Kiba wanted to avoid her eye contact, but reprimanded himself for wanting to do so. He did catch her eye, however brief before speaking and looking towards the ground again. "Lee told me what you were doing."

Tenten's jaw fell open. She quickly rounded on Lee and was about to chew him out when Kiba interrupted her doing so.

"Tenten, before you scratch his eyes out, I don't know if you're really doing this because it's my fault or if that's just what Lee told me, but if it is, then.. I don't want to just say 'sorry' and go on with our lives, because that doesn't seem like enough to make up for whatever the hell I did."

Tenten slowly spun herself around to fave Kiba. Her eyes moved up to catch his gaze and quickly flitted elsewhere. "Technically, it isn't your fault. It's just something that I decided to do."

Kiba sighe and lumped slightly. "But it's still technically is?"

"Well, really it just stemmed from what I felt for you. But personally, you did nothing. It was still all me."

Kiba reached out to hold one of her hands. "Tenten-"

Lee quickly noticed the other boy's action and smacked his hand away from Tenten. "What do you think you are doing? Who was it that said you could touch her?"

This time when Tenten rounded on Lee, no one stopped her. "Lee, will you just get out of here?"

"But, Tenten-"

"Just go! This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me," Lee defended. "When something includes my girlfriend-"

"Oh my God! For the last time, Lee, we're not dating, we never did date, and we never will. I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but I've already said it to you but it looks like you still didn't hear me. I don't like you, I've never liked you, and I most likely will never see you as more than just a friend. And right now, you're really making our friendship really hard to deal with. So go!"

Lee was even more wide eyed then before. Hesitantly, he started to walk away from the pair, looking back every now and then to make sure that Tenten was being completely serious about it. After realizing that she was indeed serious with her stamtenet, he fled from the scene.

Tenten looked back at Kiba. "What were you going to say?"

Kiba shrugged. "Really, I don't know. I wanted to say something comforting maybe, something to make me feel less guilty."

Tenten stiffened. "Is that the only reason why you came here? So that no one would pin the blame on you about what poor little Tenten is doing?"

"No, that's not why. Well, it sorta was the reason why I first came down here, but it isn't anymore."

"I can't believe that I actually thought for a moment there that you had come around and were probably going to sweep me off my feet or something." She laughed. "You're an asshole, Kiba."

"Dammit, Tenten listen to me."

"No! I'm tired of listening to whatever you have to say about how you'll never like me like that but still want to be friends anyway, because you know what Inuzuka, I'm over it."

She spun back towards the direction of the street and quickly looked in both direction. Though the street sign had already gone from 'cross' to 'don't cross', there were no cars visible. With that, Tenten ran across the street anyway, leaving Kiba behind.

xxx

Naruto, to say the least, left his home with a strong urge to call Sakura and tell her that he wasn't feeling well, that maybe they should go out some other day, maybe with a few more of their friends. Even though he felt that way, he went to meet her anyway. The whole time while traveling from his house to the karaokee bar he was fast approaching, he felt that something was amiss, causing his stomach to be unsettled the whole time.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out to him, smiling brightly and waving her hand frantically at his oncoming figure.

He waved back though a little less enthusiastically.

"So I was thinking," she said once he was next to her, "that maybe we would grab a drink first, chill at one of the tables then hit a booth. Sing a few songs then go out for something to eat."

"Sakura, why did you ask me out here?" he asked. "Honestly, is there any other reason then the one you gave me."

Her bright smile slipped into being just a small one. "Naruto, what if I were to tell you that, I might actually be feeling something for you?"

Naruto raised his eyeborws at the question. "I would ask you if you were sick."

Sakura laughed lightly. "I'm being serious Naruto."

"I am too," he said.

Her smile slipped away from her face all together, a small frown replacing it. "Why wouldn't you believe me?"

"After all this time, why the sudden change of heart?"

Sakura stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Maybe I just realized how much you really loved me."

"That's just it, Sakura." His voice level dorpped to a somewhat mutter. Anyone around them wouldn't have been able to hear what he was saying. "I don't think I ever really did love you."

"What are you talking about? You've been chasing me throughout school."

"I know, but, it's a bit messy to explain."

"How can you be so sure that you're over me, Naruto?"

He thought that over for awhile. "Sakura."

"Yeah?"

"There's not one person in this world that could hate me more than I could."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about."

He sighed. "That's what I thought. Thanks."

"For what?" she asked.

"For helping me figure out that I don't feel anything romantic for you."

"Is that right? Well, maybe I'll help you with feeling something."

Before Naruto was able to respond to anything, Sakura pressed her lips against his. The shock of the sudden contact caused his to gasp, letting Sakura on to believe that she was given the okay to deepen their kiss. And Naruto, for all of his will psower, coudn't break away from teh contact. Instead of throwing her off like he first thought he should, placed his hands on either side of her waist before wrenching away.

"How do you feel about that?" she asked.

She was a little surprised that he hadn't let it last longer.

He looked deeply into her eyes and muttered, "I didn't feel anything."

"Naruto!"

The blonde immediately dropped his hands from her waist and threw her off of him. When he turned to see who it was that called out his name like that, it was his unfortunate fate that it was the person he feared it was.

"Hinata."

Hinata stood only a few feet away from them, already crying over the scene that she had just witnessed.

"How long have you been there?" he asked.

"Long enough," she answered.

His eyes quickly darted from her crying figure to the one standing right behind her. "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke smirked. "Leaving." He turned and walked off, Sakura ran after him, leaving just Naruto and Hinata alone.

"Hinata," he called out softly.

Hinata, though tried to hold it back, let out a small sob and walked briskly past him. Naruto turned and chased after her.

"It's not like you think it was," he cried out.

She stopped and turned on him. "Like what, Naruto? Like you weren't just all over the one person that you said you had no interest in anymore? While at the same time telling me that you wanted to be with me? What did I possibly do for you to play with me like this?"

"Listen to me, Hinata please. This wasn't a date or anything like that. I don't know why she kissed me but I didn't start it."

"No," she said. "But you sure complied with it."

"Ah-Okay, that is true. I did. But it was more of a reflex of anything. Please, all we were supposed to be doing was having an outing bwtween friends and that was it."

"How exactly am I supposed to believe that, Naruto? Especialy with what I just saw?!"

"Look, I know this fucking cycle might make you think I that I might still like her like that-"

"Wait, what cycle?"

"This, I don't know! This cycle thing that we've been trapped for I don't know how long and I just realized that because Kiba told me about it where like everyone is in love with someone else and it just goes on and on and on. But now I know for sure that I can break this chain, because I don't love her Hinata, I love you."

She stared at him, long and hard, desperately wanting to believe his words but for the love of everything couldn't. What she had just seen fit so perfectly together, and with what both Sasuke and Tenten had said to her, it made all the more sense. Never in her life, would she ever picture Naruto to be one of those boys.

"Hinata."

The way that he called her name out made her want to forgive him instantaneously. She shook her head and in a hard tone said, "You say that you just realized we were in a continuous cycle, and I believe that. But I also believe what I saw. Because you said it yourself. You wanted to be with her. Now I'm breaking the chain and I don't love you anymore."

She turned to walk off, but before she was able to even step away, he reached his hand out and snatched her onw of her own, holding her back.

"You.. Do you really mean that?" he asked.

Hinata didn't bother to face him. She kept still, signaling that she was listening to him, but that was all.

"Yes," she said. "Naruto, after loving you for so long, then thinking that I would actually have a chance to be with you, and to see what I saw, I just don't have what it takes to keep loving you."

"Hinata, please-"

"Let me go, Naruto."

"No, not until you hear me out."

"I said let me go!" She pulled away from his hold forcefully. Before she walked away from him she turned her head slightly so that he was able to see the seriousness that was in her eyes. "I don't love you like I did yesterday. And you shouldn't even think that I ever will again."

She faced forward and ran. Ran away from him particularly. She didn't want him to see her cry anymore.

Naruto stayed rooted to his spot, able to do nothing but look after her. Above him in the skies, there was a flash of lightning followed by thunder soudning through the air, both telling signs that a storm was about to come through. The rain hadn't started yet, but Naruto already felt something wet rolling down his face.

'I'm an idiot,' he thought. 'I'm a complete fucking retard.'

xxx

"Sasuke, wait!"

Sasuke walked a bit farther before coming to a complete halt. He turned around and faced Sakura's rapidly approaching figure.

"Why did you leave like that?" she asked him, breath coming out in pants due to her physical exertion. "I thought you were going to stay behind."

Sakura doubled over a little and when she finaly caught her breath and was able to speak normally, looked back up and said, "Did I do it right? Was I able to prove that I love you?"

For the first time since he could remember, Sasuke genuienly smiled at her. "Yes, Sakura, you did a fantastic job. Thank you very much."

Sakura looked down at her feet bashfully and smiled softly while flushing a light pink. "I would do anything to prove my love for you, Sasuke."

"And you did," he said. "You can go home now."

Her head snapped up and she looked at him questioningly. "What? I-I thought that we were going to do something afterwards, you said that we would if I didn't fall in love with Naruto. Which I really don't see how I could when I have you."

Sasuke's smile faded away gradually. "Sakura, there's nothing about what I told you to do that you find just a bit funny?"

"Should I?" she asked.

Sasuke shook his head slowly. "Sakura, you're such a stupid girl."

She looked at him confused. "What?"

"Tell me, Sakura, what did I ask of you?"

"You told me that I should prove to you how much I loved you, because you weren't sure," she recounted. "When I asked how I could, that's when you came up with the idea of dating Naruto because he's liked me for so long and if I didn't fall for him because of that, then you would know for sure. Which is why you told me to tell you the time and place, so that you would be able to show up and make sure that I wasn't just acting. If you stormed off because of that kiss, I know it looked totally believable, but it didn't mean anything."

"I know that," he said. "But, Sakura, if that was really the case, then why did I bring Hinata?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't find one. Her brows furrowed together at the question. "I don't know."

Sasuke walked up to her and stood directly in front. He bent down and muttered into her ear, "I don't like you Sakura. Not now, not ever. Truth be told, I've always considered you to be the most annoying and boring girl to ever have made my aquaintance. There's no possible way that I could ever find the slight interest in you. The fact of the matter is that I played into your fantasy because I needed you for a bit and you did your part, but as far as I'm concerned I no longer need you around. And to answer your question on why I ran off like that back there, well, I certainly couldn't tell you all this with Hinata close by. Which reminds me, I should get back to her, I'm sure she is heartbroken right now and in need of some comfort."

He stood straight and brushed past her. Sakura was already crying silently by this time. The whole time she was carrying out with his plan, there was that nagging suspicion that there was an ulterior motive behind everything. She didn't want to believe it though. Most of all, she didn't want to believe everything that Ino had been telling her. All she wanted was for her dream to come true. And she finally thought that they would, only to realize that she was a pawn in someone's game.

The rain started to fall, she was vaguely aware of that much. Her mind started to move absentmindedly, wanting to direct her to some shelter from the downpour. Instead of seeking refuge in nearby shops she walked numbly through the streets, looking for a canopy or awning to stand under until the storm let up a bit. She turned a corner and instantly recognized a familiar voice.

"Come on, I really need this, I have nothing left."

"And I'm telling you that you just don't have enough."

"Chouji?" she called out.

Chouji spun and saw Sakura standing not very far away.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, y'know, making my life even more messed up then it is now," she answered. "The usual. What are you doing?"

"Nothing, really. Shopping."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"Listen," Kainkuro interjected. "You don't have enough for anything. And I can't give you anymore discounts, alright?"

"Please," Chouji begged. "Just one more and I swear to God I'll get the money for you somehow."

"What are you buying Chouij?" Sakura asked him.

Chouji looked over at her and flashed her a small smile. "Something to ease away my stress, kep my weight down, erase some pain."

Sakura looked at him curiously. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head a bit. "At least not physically. Emotionally, I might be a little scared."

Sakura turned to Kankuro. "How much for whatever the hell it is?"

Kankuro told her the price and she dug inside her purse for her wallet. She unzipped the small leather puch and pulled out the right amount of notes.

"I'll pay for it," she said.

Chouji shot her a bewildered look. "Are you serious."

She looked over at him. "Only if you share."

He nodded. "I guess."

Kankuro picked the money from her hand and handed over two packets of Speed.

"I need to get going," he said. "You two be carefull with that shit."

Chouji nodded his head quickly and pulled at Sakura's arm, dragging her away from the scene. He still didn't like to hang around more than he should.

"I don't know where to go though," he said to himself. "Shikamaru's either already out looking for me or already given up and just crashing my place for now waiting for me to get back."

"We can go to my place," she told him. "It's only my mom and she's probably just passed out."

He stopped and looked at her. "For real?"

"Yeah," she said. "It's not problem."

"Alright then. Lead the way."

tbc. . .

A/N: Ah my garsh!! It was Hinata!! Who'da thunk it? But wait, this fic is not over yet! So nobody attack me, nobody hug me, don't do anything! Let us see what happens next. But anyway, as much as I'd love to rant about nothing in particular, just a quick word to some peeps and I gotta bounce.

Chronostorm: Hey, sorry about the sudden end to our conversation. I lost Internet connection and once I got it back I was thrown off physically by none other than the SasuNaru fanatic herself. It was easier to just let her have her way and not cause a scene. But anyway, if one Yaoi crazed person is bad, imagine being around four. Gah! Though I admit, the other three are more subtle with it. Sort of...

Hali-chan: Actually, the only reason why I used the graveyard scene was because I wasn't really sure how to start out the chapter. But glad ya liked it nonetheless.

Madge: Oi! Ya know about halfway into the week I realized what this weekend was. You would've been better off staying at Nettie's for an extra week, though I suppose a "Going Away" party like last Friday on the same day would have been a little inappropriate. Well, I guess not really. In any case, see ya tomorrow!

Misa-chan: Um, I thought about it, and even though you told me that my logic was sound, the truth of the matter is that I'm wrong. By all means, Calipso should be included, and I'm sorry for neglecting her when technically, the way Daisy went had nothing to do with anything as well. I would be much obliged, if you and Sanada-kun came with us. He knows where we meet.

xxxturkey: Well, I wouldn't say that I'm happy like I was last week, but I'm not heading towards that cynical depression that I sometimes go through. But whatever. Oh, and I saw the first nine episodes of KGNE. I would have watched them all there and then, but I was suffering from drama overload, I swear I lived for those small comic relief moments.

Oh, major importante, long story short, since I'm close to 100 reviews, it was decided long ago that if this fic ever went past 125 reviews, the 125th reviewer would have the fic dedicated to them (if whoever wanted it to be, totally optional), so thought I should mention it or something like that. There is one flame that I got for I don't remember which chapter and I'm not counting that, so see the number of reviews? Just minus one and there's the number I'm seeing. And anyone reviewing annonymously, one per chapter please and thank you.

'Kay then, I have to go shopping 'cause I have no idea where my checkered dress is and that was pretty much the only thing I had that had no black on it whatsoever. Oh, and there is no Beta's Note, but it isn't 'cause we're fighting again, Salem just gets a little depressed the day before March 1st (and 7th) and isn't up to being happy happy joy joy like he usually is. So then, see ya next week!


	28. III, iv

xxx  
Scene IV: "For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee bright, Who art as dark as hell, as black as night."  
xxx

Though he had returned home the previous night slightly discouraged, Kiba was still determined to set things right with Tenten, even if he wasn't entirely sure himself what needed to be done in order to achieve that. He wasn't even sure what it was that had disturbed their friendship and caused it to turn down this perverse path, but in any case, he wanted to fix it, and wasn't going to quit until everything had returned to, if not normal then semi-normal, between them.

So with a bit of new resolution in his mind set, Kiba returned to the spot where Lee had led him only yesterday and waited. Though he wasn't sure when the girl would show up, he doubted that she would before noon, but not wanting to take that chance, arrived sometime in the mid-morning. He waited for four hours.

Tenten was a bit hesitant on taking her usual route. With Lee practically watching her every move and usually hassling her before she entered the building, that in itself had her take into consideration a new way to get to her destination. Now, she was worried about whether or not Kiba would make an appearance other than the day before. She had though, shaken that off and came to the conclusion that she could always just deal with Lee like she always had.

The instant that she saw Kiba's figure obviously waiting for her to show up, she turned tail and began to flee the scene. Kiba on the other hand, through some miracle, spotted her out amongst the people crowding the sidewalk. He abandoned his position and chased after her.

"Tenten!" he cried. "Tenten, wait!"

Tenten ignored his pleas for her attention. She kept walking, speeding up her pace with every step she took so that she would always be out of his reach. She failed to do that though. Kiba dodged people and half-ran to catch up with her speeding figure. Soon he was right behind her and caught her arm. He finally stopped her from walking away from his any longer.

"Tenten," he said. "Talk to me. Or at least listen to me."

Tenten shook off his hold and turned to face him. She glanced over him dubiously, asking herself in a way if she should should listen to what he had to say. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath before opening them again.

"I'll listen," she told him. "On one condition."

"What's the condition?" he asked.

Tenten blinked a few times before responding. "I don't know, but I'll think of it."

Kiba's brow furrowed. "If I don't know what the condition is how am I supposed to agree with it?"

"Just agree or not, Kiba!"

"Alright, alright, I'll do it."

"Good. Now, what do you want to tell me?"

Kiba looked around at the individuals passing them by. Some looking their way while doing so.

"I don't really want to talk out in the open," he told her. "Is there a place around here where we could go?"

Tenten looked around at their surroundings.

"Come on," she said and took hold of his hand. "There's a restaurant over there we could go to."

Holding onto Kiba's hand, Tenten wove them through the afternoon crowd. She only let go, however unwillingly, when the bell at the entrance of the establishment signaled their arrival.

"A table in the back, please," Tenten said to the hostess in a polite tone.

A few moments later, they were sitting in a booth away from many of the other customers. Tenten ordered them some tea and as soon as their server was out of earshot, she turned back to Kiba. Most of the warmth that lit up her face while speaking to the others vanished from her features almost immediately when focusing back on the boy.

She spoke only one word. "Talk."

Kiba gulped and shifted a bit in his seat. He brought his hands onto the table and folded them in front of himself.

"Okay," he began. "I guess I should start off with saying that I never meant to lead you on to believe anything and I'm sorry for doing that. But I'm not just saying that to make me feel less guilty. I really do mean it."

Tenten rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Alright, Kiba, I'll level with you and just say that you had absolutely nothing to do with anything that I have been doing. Okay, maybe the things I did were kind of based on how I was feeling at the time over you, but really it's just been my choice so don't freak out over it, 'kay?"

"No, not 'kay. Tenten, lookit, I'm trying my damdest to fix whatever the hell is messed up between us and God knows I'm having trouble with it, so can't you just fucking cut me some slack and take me seriously when I say that I'm sorry that I don't love you but I don't want anything major to change with us."

Tenten had crossed her arms in the time after she had spoken and Kiba had yet to. However, after Kiba had finished speaking, Tenten quickly uncrossed her arms and was actually about to slam her palms against the table to display just how much she was upset with everything, but stopped herself in mid-action. Their server had come back to them and served them the tea that Tenten had ordered for them. They each muttered a small thanks and watched as he walked away from their booth. Tenten watched carefully, waiting until it was okay for her to start speaking again. Once she felt safe to do so, she rounded back onto Kiba.

"How do you expect nothing between us to change, Kiba?" she demanded. "We could have just done that, but then you had to get all weird around me. And don't say you haven't because you even went as far as to ditch most of English this week. Yeah, I noticed."

"Okay, I didn't know how to handle things," he confessed. "But I'm stepping up now."

"Big whoop."

"Y'know, Tenten, I might not know how a lot 'bout relationship stuff works, but I'm pretty sure you're gonna have to work with me for this to work."

Tenten picked up her tea and took a small sip from it. She set it back down of the surface and folded her hands neatly in front of her.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll admit that you're trying."

Kiba let out a relieved breath. "Thank you."

"But," she started, "why are you trying, Kiba? I mean, it's not like you couldn't have pretended that none of this was happening and we could've just, I don't know, gone from there?"

Kiba gave her a short nod. "I know. But that would be like saying what you're doing now is okay and, I don't think it is."

"What do you care?" Her voice wasn't harsh. In all actuality, everything that she was saying now came out in little more than a mutter.

"I care because I do love you Tenten," Kiba explained. "Maybe not like.."

Tenten smiled sadly. "Like Hinata?"

Kiba let out a defeated sigh. "Let me clear something up, Tenten. Yes, I do love Hinata, but I don't love love her."

Tenten looked at him confused. "But you said-"

"Yeah, I know what I said. But I was talking with Naruto and he got into my head and I started thinking stuff and that's when I realized that I do love her, I love her a lot, but maybe I'm just not _in_ love with her. But just because I'm not in love with her doesn't mean that she's not the most important person to me. I mean, she has been for so long, she's not gonna stop being that just like nothing."

Tenten's eyes slightly brightened. "But if you're not in love with her, then could that mean-"

"No," Kiba cut her off and shook his head. "I don't love you like you want me to, Tenten. Who knows, maybe one day I will, but right now it's a no. I guess I just don't really like anyone like that."

Tenten casted her eyes downwards slightly and took everything that he had said into consideration. She looked up at him thoughtfully after a few minutes.

"Well," she said. "I guess that's better than nothing."

Kiba said nothing. He only watched her silently as she took another drink of her tea and set it back down.

"So," she began again, speaking louder this time. "What now?"

Kiba shrugged. "I don't know.. Are you gonna go.. do that.. stuff?"

Tenten looked down into the cup her hands were still wrapped around. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the reflection of herself in the liquid.

She shook her head. "No. I guess not. I'll just go back to dating."

Her statement left Kiba perplexed. "What?!"

"One step at a time, Kiba. It'll all stop soon enough. Besides, there's this thing I've had my eye on for awhile."

"I could probably get you a real job," he offered.

"No thanks."

"Tenten."

"Fine," she sighed. "Tell me and I'll think about it."

xxx

Sakura's hysterical giggling was cut short by a racking cough coursing through her body. Chouji instinctively started to pat her back quickly to help relieve her.

"You okay?" Chouji asked once her cough started to lighten up.

Sakura nodded, still coughing in small bursts but slowly easing up.

"You want some water?" Chouji asked her.

"Yeah," she answered, her throat feeling a little gritty from her episode. "Pass me my water bottle, would ya?"

Chouji grabbed the small container from her desk and handed it over. Sakura twisted the cap off and drank hastily, gulping half of the contents in one go.

"Guess I laughed too hard," she said and closed it back up again. She fell backwards and let out small happy laugh. "But I was having so much fun!"

"Sakura," Chouji laughed, he found it hard not to with the girl acting so joyous and carefree at the moment. "We haven't left the room."

"I know," she replied. "That's why I'm having so much fun."

"Because we haven't gone outside?" he questioned.

"Yeah. Inside is much more fun because nothing outside can get in and hurt you."

"Like what?" Chouji asked while laying down next to her, also on his back.

"Like everything," she answered. "Insecurities, the idea of failing, being imperfect, being overweight."

"Why would you be afraid of that? Sakura, you're like, the thinnest girl I know."

She shook her head. "I still haven't lost enough to be happy."

"When will you be happy?"

She sighed. "I won't be happy, until I've reached zero. When that happens, everything'll be perfect."

"In a perfect world," Chouji said. "Everything would be perfect."

Sakura propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him oddly. "Well, yeah, 'cause it would be perfect. Duh!"

Chouji stared up at the ceiling with his brow furrowed in concentration. He then looked over at the pinkette. "You're right."

They both bursted out with a fit of laughter.

"I think I'm coming down," Sakura said once the laughing subsided.

"I think I am to," replied Chouji.

"That's not good," the pinkette continued. "That means that I'm going to have to go back to feeling bad. I don't want to feel bad."

"I don't either," Chouji told her. "I don't want to remember how I won't be loved."

"Me too," she sighed. "For the longest time I kept thinking, 'Maybe... Maybe...'... I thought it would be so worth it... I feel so stupid for thinking he could ever want me. I feel like such a tool."

"Don't you mean fool?"

Sakura shook her head again. "no. I meant tool. Because I guess that's all I'm good for. Be used for someone else's personal gain and then throw out like whatever. It makes sense though... I mean, why would he fall for someone like me? I'm so stupid."

Chouji reached over and wiped away the tears that begun to fall from her eyes with his thumb.

"You're not stupid," he told her, an attempt of comforting her.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Because the worst part is, I'm still in love with the bastard. That, immaculate human being that I adore so much is a complete and utter sonuvabitch. And I love him. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"You can't choose who you fall in love with, Sakura."

"No... But it would be a whole lot easier if we could. Then I wouldn't have to put up with feeling like this. Because then I could just fall in love with a nice guy who actually cared about me. Someone who wouldn't be so selfish and just toss me aside like nothing.. Maybe even someone like Naruto."

Chouji raised an eyebrow to that. "You saying you're in love with Naruto now?"

"No.. But I have to admit that it wasn't so bad to be in his arms.. But even he doesn't love me. I guess I'm just an unlovable person.. Always falling short of someones standards."

She sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffled once and sat up straight, smoothing out imaginary creased in her clothing.

"Chouji," she said. "I'm feeling unhappy again. I think I came down for real."

"I think I did too," Chouji replied. "I'm feeling hungry."

"Do you want to eat something?" she asked him.

"No. I really don't. I guess I could just ignore it for now."

"That's what I do," she thought aloud. "Bit it's still netter to not feel better at all. Not feeling hungry and not feeling sad, that's Heaven."

"Amen to that," Chouji chuckled. "But what are we going to do? I think we used all of it."

"I'd say that we could just go get some more," Sakura replied. "But you don't have that much on you, right?"

"Yeah, and you used all of your cash yesterday."

"That's right," she muttered/

"You thin we could sneak some bills from your folks?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. My dad doesn't keep anything extra around the house in case my mom will use it for God knows what. What about your parents."

"We probably could, but there's that chance that Shikamaru is watching the place. He's still out for me, remember?"

Sakura nodded. "Right, I forgot for a bit. Well, how else can we get cash quick and easy?"

Chouji shrugged. "This sucks."

"hm..." Sakura closed her eyes for a second in thought. She was trying to figure out some way that they could easily attain money and at a quick rate. So far, nothing came up either than snatching an old woman's purse or trying to weasel money out of people at no cost to them.

Her eyes snapped open and she pounced the boy.

"Sakura," Chouji half-cried. "What the hell?!"

"I know a way," she told him with a large smile.

"How?"

She moved away from him and walked over to her desk. She pulled out the chair from underneath in a swift motion and sat herself in front to f the monitor of the computer, releasing it from sleep mode. She turned her head to Chouji while the screen loaded.

"It's this thing that Temari told us about. Go on dates with guys for cash. Quick and easy. From what I've done, all it is is going out for a coke and talk for a half hour or so. Pretty good money is made."

"Is that legal?" he asked and made to stand behind her.

Sakura shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." She turned back to face the screen and quickly logged onto a site she and Ino had used during their one night of Enjo Kosai. "It's Saturday, a bit short notice, but there has to be someone looking for a girl."

She clicked on links and typed on every bulletin, declaring loudly that she was available right away. It took awhile, but eventually someone was hooked and an arrangement was made.

"I gotta get downtown quick," she said and logged off. She hopped from her chair and picked her coat off from her standing manican.

"What about me?" Chouji asked.

Sakura looked at him though fully. "I don't think that it would be a good idea to let you come on the date with me. Ino and I did it together, but we're both girls... I know! Come with me, but just like, watch from far away. Like a body guard or something."

"A bodyguard?"

"Yeah, if you see him do anything weird just come out and slug him, save me, or something like that. Not like I've been in a position like that before, but I only did it once. Would've actually been two dates, but the second one was cut short."

"So what?" Chouji continued while picking his own coat from her bedroom floor. "Are some of these guys perverts or something."

"Seems like it ' she answered. "I heard some of them ask you to sell them your underwear."

"That's disgusting!"

"I know, isn't it?"

"Hell yeah it is. Would you do something like that."

Sakura almost answered "no", but stopped herself before a sound was made. "I don't know," she finally said. "I would make more money if I did, I suppose."

She shrugged. "Well, we'll find out won't we?"

She grabbed at his hand and pulled open her bedroom door. "Come one, we gotta get moving."

Chouji submitted to her lead and closed the door after him.

xxx

In his bedroom, Naruto sat in the chair that was placed in from of his desk, turned completely away from the table with the guitar that his brother had left behind positioned in a comfortable manner for playing. He strummed over the strings one by one before setting into a steady pattern. The pattern then became a song that was almost familiar, and eventually evolved to a song that he had been contemplating for the past two days.

"_Now come one, come all to this tragic affair_," he sang. "_Wipe off that make-up what's in is despair. So throw on the black dress mixed in with the lot, you might wake up and notice you're someone you're not. If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, you can find out first hand what it's like to be me. So gather 'round piggies and kiss this goodbye. I'd encourage your smiles, I'll expect you won't cry_."

His strumming came to an abrupt halt.

"I'll get through a song," he muttered. "Some day."

He put the instrument back in it's proper place with a heavy sigh. He still needed something to help him forget what was caused by his own idiocy just over a day ago. He reached over to his stereo, but stopped halfway. His outreached hand turning into a pointed finger directed accusingly at the machine.

"No," he said. "Everytime I go to you for help, all you do is make it worse. I don't know if it's just my luck or what, but everytime you play a song all it does is leave me worse off. Well I've had enough of it, y'hear me?!"

He dropped his arm lamely. "What the hell am I doing? I'm yelling at a radio for crying out loud. Like it's really out to get me."

He reached out again and flipped the side switch it onto the radio section.

_Sometimes I cry so hard from pleading.  
__So sick and tired of all the needless b-_

He switched it back to CD mode and glared at it. "I hate you."

Naruto padded out of his room and sat down on the love seat in front of the television screen. Hoping to whatever higher being that was watching over that mindless entertainment would help him forget and that the radiation spewing forthwith would keep it so that he would never remember.

He stumbled onto a movie channel while surfing through the stations. He lingered for a moment on the network, recognizing the film almost instantly. It was one that he was more than familiar with, so much that he was able to quote it line from line. Which is exactly what he did.

"Do you believe in Beauty?" he asked in sync with the character. "Yes. Freedom? Yes, of course. Truth? Yes. Love? Love? Love. Above all things I believe in Love. Love is like oxygen. Love is a many splendour thing. Love, lifts us up where we belong. All you need it love! See, you cannot fool us. You are the voice of the childwen of the wevowution. We can't be fooled!"

He quickly flipped the channel to something different. "It's not a happy ending!... It would have been better if they never had fallen in love at all."

Naruto's chancel surfing came to another abrupt halt when coming across something that was a little more significant than the movie he had turned away from.

"That's right," he mumbled. "I forgot all about it. Hinata, was supposed to come over and watch this with me."

It was what appeared to be a talk show of some kind. The host was a homely looking creature, while the guest, from the top of the velvet cap with a fishnet veil set on top of unruly curls, down to the tips of the vintage boots peeking from below a long corseted dress, looked like she tried her hardest to seem as though she had just stepped out of a different era.

"I've always thought," the one dressed fancily was saying, "that rain cleanses things that have been done. It washes all that away, and is bringing in a new set of obstacles that need to be dealt with. Symbolizing change, if you will.Characters and situations are evolving from what they were previous."

"And there has been a lot of rain lately," the interviewer said. "Many of the characters are caught in rainstorms, or are out and about while it rains. Does that have anything to do with what you were saying."

"Not really," the other answered. "Just the rain in itself is a symbol. The fact that sometimes the characters are caught outside while it rains is just saying how much I love being out when it does."

The studio audience was heard laughing lightly amongst themselves.

"Now," the interviewer started up again. "Something that is like rain, but I'm sure means something completely different. Tears. There have been a few moments when, some of the characters have been spotted crying for no particular reason, Baby Talk for example, was seen crying in one of the earlier volumes when Bootleg did nothing more than walk past her. Now, it's not only her, there was a time when Ciggy did the same, as well as Angel and surprisingly enough Moll in one of the last chapters. What does their inexplicable crying mean?"

"Well, that is actually stemmed from a belief that is held within the family, within my family. You see, Love is not not something that is taken lightly. it's always considered a serious thing. Whether or not us as individuals hold it high on each of out priority lists, it's never treated as a trivial matter. And because of that, it was always a bit difficult to decipher if or not any of us were actually in love with a person. And the way, we figured that out, was through our tears."

"Tears? So, every time you cried you knew you were in love?"

The interviewee laughed lightly at that. "No, it's a bit more complicated than that. Um, it's more or less another belief that we carry, I was actually the one to introduce the idea, but, um, I believe that the mind realizes when a person is love before that one person realizes it themselves. And because of that, I believe that there are many ways that out subconscious tires to tell us that. And the most common way is through our tears. It's only when a sudden urge to cry inexplicably after a certain thing has been said or a certain action has taken place, are you able to realize that you have been in love the entire time."

"And what if someone isn't able to recognize it right away?"

"That's not unheard of. But really, in the end, it's always recognized as Love, and honestly, if I was able to figure it out I'm sure that anyone could. I'm pretty dense when it comes to romantic relationships, so I wouldn't be too surprised if anyone could figure out that two plus two equaled four."

Naruto hit the power button and threw the remote clear across the room.

"Well isn't that just fucking great, Ms. DeRange!" he yelled. "That's one mystery that was solved a bit too late for me! Now I know that the only fucking reason I wanted to cry around her was because it was my own fucking subconscious telling me that I was in love with her the entire fucking time!"

He slumped in his seat and covered his face with both of his hands. He took several breaths to calm himself down.

"Relax," he told himself. "It's one person's opinion of something and just because they think something, doesn't mean you have to. Even if it makes sense..."

He let out a low laugh that was released more for a lack of knowing what to do than actually finding any humor in the situation.

"Am I really that slow?" he asked himself. "That I couldn't even realize what my own mind was telling me? There's no way anyone can be that slow that they wouldn't realize what their own mind was telling them... Okay, maybe there can be, but really, there should be like a limit or something to how much hints that can be given before just giving the answer."

Naruto let his hands drop into his lap and stared blankly at the screen in front of him.

"So I was in love the entire time. Too stupid to realized it and now look what happened... It's my own damn fault for not realizing shit sooner, that I willl say, but still... It's kinda depressing isn't it? The girl that has been in love with me this entire time, stopped loving me the moment I realized that I loved her. That has to be poetic justice or something. That is so emo."

Suddenly, he bolted straight up. "That's so emo. Since when the hell have I sold out and become an emo. Not that emo kids are sell outs but to label myself would be selling out for me. Anyway, this is so not like me."

He stood up from his sitting position. "When the hell have I ever given up so easily? Y'know what I should I do? I should march over there and get her back! Yeah!"

He sat back down. "Or maybe I shouldn't give up but still think of a better way to fix it. Something a little more... not stupid. I mean, honestly, I don't even believe that it would work out so great. For all I know she could have told Neji or even her dad, and then I go over there and bleah! I'm dead... Yeah, that wouldn't be so great."

Naruto swung his legs onto the other seat of the small sofa and rested his head against the armrest. Making himself comfortable, he let his mind go into overdrive.

"There's gotta be something I can do. Something I can do to fix this mess."

He stared ahead intently for minutes, but despite his determination to fix this mess, still had his head stuck on one thing.

"Stupid subconscious," he muttered. "Can't even make things... conscious... What the hell is wrong with me?"

He pushed that thought aside though, figuring that it would always be there to solve at a later date. Preferably one where there wasn't so much to do.

xxx

After Sasuke had left her on her front step Friday evening, Hinata had crawled into her bed and since then had not come out from underneath her blankets. She had acted as though she had caught a small cold while out, causing most of the staff to keep out of her way while she rebounded back from her illness.

Neji on the other hand, had found that she was not sick after coming to check on her sometime late Saturday afternoon and heard her muffled cries from behind her bedroom door. Instead of walking in and asking for an explanation, he let it go and thought it was better to bring the matter up at a different time, once she had calmed down. Even half-hoping that she would snap out of it soon and seek him out for small comfort with whatever happened.

But when it was already halfway through the afternoon on Sunday and she still hadn't left her quarters, Neji took the matter into his own hands and knocked on the slim piece of wood standing between them. Hinata's permission to enter had been hard to decipher but was still heard nonetheless.

Neji turned the handle and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him securely. He took in the environment of the room while walking up to her bed. The shades were still shut, hardly any lighting was present. He ran his finger across the edge of her bedside table and was startled at the amount of dust that had gathered after only two nights. He briefly wondered how that was entirely possible before taking a seat next to her laying figure.

"Hinata," he said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Why would you think anything was wrong?" she asked.

Neji looked back at her, still hiding beneath blankets. "Just a hunch."

His eyebrows slightly rose at the sight of her shape underneath all of the material quivering slightly. He immediately thought that it was because she was holding back unshed tears. He leaned over a bit and try to offer something that would comfort her but was instantly forced back. Hinata had thrown the sheets off of her upper body and launched herself at her cousin, tackling him with a clingy kind of hug.

"Neji!"

Neji landed on his back with some wind knocked out of him. He blinked rapidly, his mind catching up with what had just happened. upon realization, he looked down at the girl holding onto him, no longer holding anything in. He calmly placed his hands on each of her shoulders. She looked up at him after feeling his touch and began to settle down.

"Hinata," he said. "What happened?"

Hinata moved off of him at her own pace and settled onto both of her legs, still looking downwards and letting the tears falling silently to hit the bedspread. She recounted everything that had happened Friday while wiping her face clean with her own hands. Everything from what was conversed between her and Sasuke to what she had said to Naruto before returning home. By the time she finished her story, Neji could feel anger boiling within himself. He picked himself up and started for the doorway.

"Neji," she called out. "Where are you going?"

He turned his head a bit to look at her. "Well I can't kill him, I'm pretty sure there are laws stopping me from doing that. But I will beat him to the point where he can't use any of his bodily functions on his own."

"Neji, don't!"

He turned wide eyed by her outburst and turned complete towards her. "Hinata, you're not really thinking of letting this go, are you?"

"Crying wasn't the only thing I was doing this entire time," she told him. "I was thinking about how to handle all this."

"And?" he questioned.

She breathed in deeply and let it out promptly. "If he wants to be a jerk, that's fine, but I'm not going to let him have the satisfaction with knowing how much he hurt me. And you going over there, it's only going to do just that. Tomorrow, I'm going to go to school, and I'm going to walk right past him and act like none of that affected me in anyway, and just move on with my life."

She looked at Neji questioningly. "How does that sound?"

Neji shrugged slightly. "I suppose."

Hinata sighed and looked away. "I guess that's what I'm going to do then."

"What if he tries to get back into your life?" he asked.

"Then.. I guess I'll just have to keep him locked out. I'm not going to open up to him anymore. Maybe someday we'll be able to greet each other pleasantly, but right now..."

'Right now,' she thought, 'I still need to get over him, because isn't it just my luck that I'm still in love with him.'

"I think I deserve someone better," she thought aloud.

"I couldn't agree with you more," Neji said.

She looked back at him. "Neji?"

"Hn?"

She smiled at softly towards him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For listening."

"That's what I'm here for."

They stayed in silence for awhile, happy that it wasn't one of the many awkward silence that would come between them many times in the last few weeks.

"So," he started, "what are you going to do right now?"

She thought silently before answering. "I think I'm going to take a bath."

"Please do."

She let out a laugh and threw one of her pillows at him. "You don't have to say something like that."

Neji shrugged and smiled a little. "But I do anyway. I let you go do that then .My door's open if you want to come in after."

She nodded and stepped off of her bed, slumping slightly from lack of blood flowing through her legs. She was able to stand normally after awhile and began to go through her room and collect her bathing items together. Neji turned to leave her, but remembered something and quickly turned back to face her.

"Hey, Sasuke called here looking for you."

Hinata turned to face him. "Sasuke called? When?"

"Yesterday," he answered. "But I told him that you weren't feeling well and would get back to him once you were. Why's he calling here?"

"I guess, just to check how I'm doing," she told him. "He was very worried about me when he dropped me off. I should call him back."

"After you take a bath," he reminded.

"After I take a bath," she agreed.

He turned back once more to leave and walked through the door frame before looking at her once more and asked, "So you're really over Naruto?"

Hinata looked at him directly and in a firm voice answered, "Yes."

Neji nodded slightly and closed the door behind him. With him gone, Hinata let a few more teardrops escape from her eyes. Because even though she had answered "yes" to him, she knew well that in her mind and in her own heart, her real answer was "no".

tbc. . .

beta's note: hey. so laith's not here at the moment. she's out with tem doing something... i don't know what they call it. it's just the two of them but i get it so its cool. i'll see them later at his party. he turns 19 today... lin should have turned 19 today to just like daisy should have turned 19 last week and just like michael should have turned 20 in january and goldhie should have been turning 23 soon and just a bunch of people should be getting older and arent... so yeah. reviews would be great and later.


	29. III, v

xxx  
Scene V: "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is wing'd cupid painted blind."  
xxx

The morning had not gone well for Sakura.

It had started out well enough. She had gone to school feeling slightly better about everything, mostly because of the substance still flowing through her system, but still felt like nothing could bring her down. She wasn't all too positive that she would be able to make it through the day without some sort of dependency, but with her fear of being caught with it on her, insisted to Chouji that he hide her share along with his own, seeing as how he had more experience with handling at school. So with that bit of knowledge stored in he mind, she entered her Homeroom class with her head held high like usual, and took a sat in Hinata'susual place instead of her own., that way she wouldn't be sitting next to Ino, just a seat away.

It wasn't that she was still angry with Ino about her accusations of Sasuke and the true intentions behind everything that had happened, it was more because of the fact that all of it was true and she couldn't stand that.

Briefly, she wondered if she should take a glance back towards Sasuke's seat, or if that would just cause her more harm. She dismissed the notion, she had resolved to put up a tough front and not show any of her weakness. Besides, this would be a good opportunity to show Sasuke that what he pulled on her did absolutely nothing. Then, when realizing this, he would see that it should have been her that he was after, not Hinata.

However, that bubble burst when Hinata had entered the room.

Hinata waked through their aisle, just as she always had. Naruto looked up at her and even turned his head to follow her movement as she passed by him without any acknowledgment. Sakura had mentally readied herself to stay calm when the girl sat next to her, she couldn't possibly think that Hinata had any part of her being as broken as she was now.

Yet when Hinata walked even past her and Ino and went further back, she couldn't help but feel a slight hatred towards, knowing exactly where she was going. But still, she did not let it show.

Ino on the other hand, was a bit confused. Even more so as she turned her head back to follow where it was Hinata was heading for.

Hinata, had completely walked past them and made straight for the back and took the seat that was usually empty next to Sasuke. She then smiled at him and started talking with him, and to the amazement of everyone else in the class, Sasuke spoke back.

Ino looked over to Sakura quickly, fearing that she would be torn up inside. What she saw wasn't anything close to emotional turmoil. In fact, she looked happier than she had in months. But that in itself, gave her all the more reason to worry.

Ino then took a glance at Naruto and found him slumped over his desk. Looking very, un-Naruto like. Ino mentally cursed herself for not stopping whatever had happened over the weekend. She was sure that Sasuke had done something to mess up the blossoming relationship between Naruto and Hinata and messed Sakura up even more than she was before. Even though she had said to the other girl that she didn't care what she did, the fact remained, she was her best friend, and she would always care.

"Sakura," she said, but wasn't able to say anymore than that.

"I need to use the bathroom," Sakura told her and stood up, grabbing her things. "I'll be back before Kakashi gets here."

Ino watched her leave the room. When she had left, she turned her attention back to Naruto and put a hand on his back in a comforting way, but he had merely shooed her away.

'I'll tell him what I think later,' she had thought. 'I need to focus on the one who's broken the most.'

Meanwhile, Sakura wandered off towards the History classes. Once outside Iruka's still opened door, she spotted Chouji. She waved in the air, trying to catch his attention, and once she had it, motioned for him to leave the class.

She waited with her back pressed against the wall. When he closed the door behind him she started walking and signaled for him to follow her.

"You brought your stuff," she said.

"Yeah," he replied. "I told Iruka that I might be in the bathroom for awhile, he told me to take it."

"Good," she sighed. "Chouji, I'm not ready to be here yet. It's probably only fifteen minutes into the day and already I feel like I need something to keep me up."

"I know what you mean," he told her. "I started getting a little antsy in class right now."

"Where should we go?" she asked.

"Boy's bathroom."

"What?! I can't go in there."

"Sure you can, no one's gonna be in there anyway, it's still too early. Come on."

xx

Shikamaru jogged up the front steps and walked casually through the hallways. True, he was late, but it wasn't something he was going to panic over. He climbed up the first staircase and was making his way to his first class of the day instead of going straight to his Homeroom, there was no point in it by this time. He stopped though, he had seen two familiar figures coming out of the boy's bathroom. Now, normally this wouldn't be an issue for him, had not one of them been a girl. Shikamaru ran over to them and pushed Chouji back into the wall.

"What the hell!" he cried. "Dammit Chouji, why are you doing this? Sakura you too?!"

"This isn't any of your business, Shikamaru," Chouji told him. "What I do is my own thing."

"That's right," Sakura defended him as well. "What do you know?"

"I know enough to know that what you two are doing is a bad idea," he told them.

"You don't get it, Shikamaru," said Chouji. "All your doing is getting in the way. I don't want to stop, I don't need to stop, and when I want to, I'll be able to quit like nothing."

"No, you won't," Shikamaru said. "Chouji, you need help. Let me help you."

Chouji pushed him back forcefully, so much that Shikamaru ended up on the floor.

"I don't need your help for anything. Just leave us alone. Sakura let's go."

"Go where?" she asked.

"Do you think you'll be able to make it through the day here?"

She shook her head. "Let's go."

Before Shikamaru was able to get up and stop either one of them, they had already left. He stood up and brushed himself off quickly, trying to decide between chasing after them or just leaving them on their path to self-destruction.

xxx

Naruto was alone, in more sense than one. He was sitting on the school's rooftop during the lunch hour, completely alone. But it wasn't because of that he was feeling lonely. The very fact that Hinata and himself no longer had a connection left him a bit helpless, and as though even in a crowd of people in a compact room, he would still be agonizingly alone. And it hurt more than pain he had felt before.

In other words, he longed for her with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. And the fact that it was his fault that he had lost her in the first place made it all the more unbearable.

"I didn't think," he said to himself. "I didn't think that just seeing her would make my chest hurt so much. And then to see her with him.. at that moment I felt like dying. I wonder if that's how she felt, when she saw me that day."

He switched his seating position so that now his legs were stretched out in front of him.

"It must've been. It must've been.. But I don't believe what she said to me was true. I don't believe that she doesn't love me. I can't believe that because Hinata's not that kind of person. But even I can see that she's trying to forget me. I see the way she's with Sasuke now, it's the same way when she was around me. I didn't think she would go for someone like him though. Then again, I never figured that he would go for her. I've never seen him so much as look at a girl, but then again when the hell have I ever really been around him. But he seems to lie her... If I don't think of something quick, I'm gonna lose her for good. But I don't know what to do."

Naruto sighed and leaned back onto his palms, closing his eyes and letting the sunshine wash over him.

"I don't know what I could possibly due to make her see that I really do love her."

His eyes snapped open at the sound of the door leading up to the place opened and sat up quickly. He glanced over and saw that it was Shino who had traveled up.

"Hey," the blonde greeted.

The other boy merely nodded and made his way over to Naruto and sat somewhat beside him. Naruto waited to see if Shino would speak up. He did no such thing. With a slight roll of eyes, Naruto struck up a conversation with him.

"Where is everyone?" he questioned point blank.

"Chouji and Sakura left school grounds long ago," Shino informed him. "Shikamaru then went off in search for them. Why, I don't know. Tenten and Kiba are below in the Courtyard, having their lunch. Ino is in search of Sakura, apparently no one had told her that she had left school."

"And you didn't bother telling her?" Naruto asked.

"She didn't ask me."

"So then how did you know she was looking for her?"

"I could tell."

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever... I wonder why Chouji and Sakura left."

"For whatever the reason, it couldn't have possibly been any good."

"What makes you say that?"

"There's been a lot more to observe lately," Shino told him. "From what I've been able to see Chouji is involved in something and Shikamaru is concerned about it. That in itself is something to raise an eyebrow over. Assuming that whatever it is that Chouji is doing, the notion that Sakura is now involved couldn't possibly be any good, considering that she is even more unstable than she usually is."

"She looked fine earlier," Naruto said. "What makes you say she's unstable?"

"I've not only seen many things these past weeks, I've also overheard many things."

"Eavesdropper," Naruto scolded.

"Not at all," Shino countered. "It's not my fault that Ino talks to herself when she thinks no one is around."

Naruto let out a soft chuckle. "I can see her doing that, well, I can see anyone doing that really."

"What makes you think that?" Shino questioned him.

"Things are easier to figure out when they're said out loud," he answered. "One conscious stream of thought instead of the usual clutter of many."

Naruto turned his head in Shino's direction. "Never mind that, what were you saying about Sakura?"

Shino pushed the bridge of his glasses back into position. "Apparently there was something that happened between her and Sasuke. From what Ino was saying to herself it appears as though Sakura and Sasuke were in some sort of relationship. Now is she is concerned over Sakura's well being, thinking that maybe this sudden change in Sasuke's relationship with Hinata has done something to her psyche. I would say though, Sakura is doing very well in hiding her emotional turmoil. It doesn't take a genius to see that it would undoubtedly harm her in some way. But to what extent, I'm not sure."

"Sakura and Sasuke were in a relationship?" Naruto asked himself more so. "But, if they were together, then why would he be with Hinata now? Shino?"

Shino let out a small irritated sigh. "I don't believe they were in a real relationship. It is to my knowledge that Uchiha Sasuke has liked Hinata for quite some time now. For him to have such feelings for her and to be in a relationship with someone who is not Hinata, is impossible. He would not do something like that."

"Sasuke likes Hinata? And has for longer than just now? And he was in a relationship with Sakura, but not really, and that hurt Sakura. Wait a minute! If Sakura thought she was with Sasuke then why did she say all that stuff to me on Friday?! It doesn't make any sense."

Shino made no reply. Naruto turned away from him and closed his eyes, furrowing his brow in concentration.

"Okay," he said. "Think back to Friday. I was meeting Sakura downtown, I asked her why when I got there, she said all that stuff, then she kissed me, and Hinata showed up, and then I saw Sasuke-"

His eyes snapped open as the realization of Sasuke being there hit him.

"Sasuke was there," he repeated. "Why was Sasuke there? He had no reason to be there, at least I don't think he did. And he was with Hinata, and he was like, smiling or something while she cried. If he like her than much why would he enjoy seeing her in that kind of pain. Unless..."

He turned to Shino and took a firm hold of his shoulders and shook him slightly. "Shino, do you think there's the possibility that Sasuke would have done something to make Hinata hate me and then step up to replace me?"

"Honestly," the boy replied. "Yes."

Naruto let go of him and fall back onto his legs. This newly thought out information had brought on a headache beginning to form. He pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, "Shino, how much more do you know?"

"That's as much information as I have on the subject," he told him. "If it's answers you're looking for, then I would suggest finding Ino. She would have more to say on the matter."

"Ino," Naruto muttered her name.

Naruto stood up swiftly and bolted for the door leading back into the school. He ran down the staircase and stopped when reaching the bottom. He quickly shifted his eyes around the area, looking to see if she was anywhere near. After finding no trace of her there, he ran into the library, going through all the shelves quickly. When that proved to be a failure, he ran up and down the hallways, looking in every direction for her.

'This would be a whole lot easier,' he thought, 'if I knew where she was. But she's looking for Sakura, and doesn't know that she's already gone, so she's going to be running around too. If I'm lucky I'll bump into her.'

Naruto ran searched the entire third floor, only to find that she was nowhere there. He quickly scaled the staircase down to the second, hoping that she would be there. Halfway through his search he ran into Lee, who had been staring down below out of one of the windows. The collision caused both of them to fall to the floor.

"Sorry 'bout that," Naruto apologized and helped the other boy up. "You okay?"

"I am fine," Lee told him. "Naruto, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I need to find Ino," he replied. "It's really important, have you seen her anywhere."

Lee nodded. "Yes I have."

Naruto smiled. "That's great! Where is she?"

"She left school," he told him. "She was asking around for Sakura. I told her that I had seen her and Chouji leave school early today and Shikamaru left as well, probably going after them."

Naruto's smile fell. "She's gone?"

Lee nodded again. "Yes. She left while saying something about catching up to them and hoping they did nothing stupid. Naruto, do you know what is going on?"

Naruto shrugged slightly. "I don't know, but I wish it would stop."

xxx

Tenten noticed that Kiba was somewhat uncomfortable since the moment they sat down. She decided to call it to his attention before their class actually begun.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "This whole thing isn't still bothering you is it?"

Kiba shook his head. "No, it's not that. I don't know, it's like, I feel like something wrong."

"Wrong?"

"I don't know. Can't really explain it. Like, have you noticed that none of our friends are around?"

Tenten brushed a part of her bangs away and thought about it. "Not really," she said. "Actually, I haven't really seen any of them all day. I didn't see Chouji around after Homeroom."

"And I haven't seen Shikamaru since then too," Kiba said. "Then in History, Sakura wasn't there and Ino started freaking out in her seat. I asked her what was up and she kept saying something about knowing that a bastard was going to screw around with her."

"What does that mean?" asked Tenten.

Kiba shrugged. "I don't know. It was kind of freaking me out though."

"It would kind of freak me too," Tenten concurred.

"Not only that," Kiba continued. "But it's like.. I guess the only way I could describe it would be like, there's a disturbance in the Force, or something like that."

Tenten let out a laugh. "Sorry, that was kind of funny. But go on, what else do you think is going on?"

"I don't know, they're missing, and the ones that are here, they're not acting right. Like, Naruto's not acting like Naruto, he's too quiet. And there's something going on with Hinata."

"I heard that she started seeing Sasuke."

"What?!" Kiba half-cried. "When?"

"Um... About three hours ago, horde of fangirls crying in the bathroom. I'm not joking either, it was kind of sad.. In a pitiful way.. Though I guess I'm no better."

Kiba ignored the last part, reminding himself to address it later possibly. "But Naruto told me just last week that he wanted to be with Hinata and the last time I checked she still liked him."

"Naruto wants to be with Hinata?" Tenten asked, a bit surprised. "Huh, and now she's with Sasuke. Well it's no wonder he looked so sad the time I saw him."

"This isn't right," Kiba said.

"What are you going to do?"

He looked over at her. "Should I do anything?"

Tenten shrugged. "I don't know. I guess if we find out a bit more about what happened for this to go on, we could kind of see if there's anything to do to help."

"Would that be helping or just getting in the way?"

"Hm.. Really I think it just depends on the situation. Do you think that Hinata would start seeing Sasuke when only last week she was madly in love with Naruto, and Naruto even said that he wanted to be with her, would she let that go by without something happening between them?"

Kiba shook his head immediately. "Nah, I wouldn't believe that she would just let that go by."

"Alright then," Tenten said. "We'll try to find out what happened. I'll talk with Hinata, and you talk with Naruto."

"Why do I have to talk with Naruto."

"Because you're the guy."

"That's a bit sexist don't you think?"

"No, idiot, I meant because you both share the same chromosomes, he'll tell you what's up easier than if telling me."

"That still sounds sexist to me."

"Whatever," Tenten sighed. "I'm talking to Hinata and I'm not switching."

"Fine," Kiba conceded. "I'll talk with Naruto. When are you going to talk to Hinata?"

Tenten leaned her head back in thought. "I'll see if I can get her to talk during Gym, and if not, I'll corner her before History tomorrow."

"Why not over the phone?"

Tenten shook her head. "One sided conversations are dangerous to overhear. And there's always the chance that someone will pick up the phone if there's more than one connection in the house. Computers aren't safe either, unless you know how to clean out everything. And I mean everything, nothing can be left otherwise someone's bound to find it. It's also harder to determine someone's words, whether or not something was meant sarcastically or not. No, it's best to do it in person. When will you talk to Naruto?"

"I'm not going to see him anymore today," Kiba said. "I don't know if he's going to work today either. Guess I'll catch him during break tomorrow."

"If that's the case, then maybe I should just talk to Hinata tomorrow," Tenten said thoughtfully. "That way, both sides of the story will be just heard. Easier to analyze, y'know?"

"Yeah, okay."

Their conversation was cut there. Class had been called to attention.

xxx

Sai came through the office door, languidly pushing the delivery cart in before him. With his foot, he aimlessly directed it towards the wall near his desk and ignored the small thud it made when coming on contact. Mostly because his vision had focused on the blonde that was slumped over his desk face down. He quietly shut the door behind him and strolled over to the boy, taking a place in front of the desk.

"Well," he started, "don't you look like the weather?"

Naruto lifted his head up. "Wha d'ya mean?"

"It's raining outside," Sai told him with a slight shrug.

"Again?"

"I think it wants to snow but it's just not cold enough."

"Whatever," Naruto muttered and put his head back down.

Sai stared down at him a bit before walking to his side of the office and taking hold of his chair, wheeled it over back to where he was standing and sat down.

"Alright," he said. "What's wrong? You look more depressed than when the Harmony shippers found out he chose Ginny." Sai frowned slightly. "Tragic day that was."

Naruto sat up slightly and looked at the boy in front of him. "Were you a Harmony shipper?"

"Hn? No, of course not. I thought Luna suited him better." (1)

"I'm not gonna ask, I really don't care," he murmured slightly and rested his head against his hand.

"So, you gonna tell me what's up?" Sai asked.

Naruto sighed. "I feel like I'm trapped in a bad romance story with too much drama and is, oddly enough, slightly comedic. And right now the bad guy is winning and as the main character, I think I'm gonna lose unless I can prove to the love interest that I am very much in love with her before time runs out."

Sai's brow slightly furrowed. "Why are you the main character?"

"Well, I think I should be the main character," Naruto answered. "It's my life. Shouldn't you be the main character if it's you're life?"

"Well what if someone's writing a fictional non-fiction about their own life but in the third person?"

Naruto blinked a few times. "Who would do that?"

Sai shrugged. "Someone."

Naruto waved his hand slightly. "Whatever, I don't care. I have my own issues to deal with and possibly some other issues that aren't even mine that I might have to deal with if I ever get the call."

"Well seeing as how we're short on time, why don't we work on just your issues today?"

"Why do you sound like a psych?"

"Perhaps it's my new calling," Sai told him.

"I can only pray that it won't include children."

"Naruto, that's not very nice," he chided.

"Neither are you."

"I'm bearable."

"Sometimes."

"You want to talk or not?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. "I don't know. Not really. Half of me wants to forget about it, but the better half of me says not to give up without a fight. The only problem is that I don't have anything to really fight with. She already thinks that I was playing with her, I don't know how that bastard set me up, but I know -have no proof, but I know- that he's behind all of this because he's liked her for, longer than me I guess. But in any case, that's not helping me any because for all I know he could be filling her head with even more crap that's gonna make her hate me even more, which I don't think is even possible. Hell, she probably hates me more than I hate myself, and I gotta tell ya, that's a lot of hate."

Sai tilted his head slightly and looked at him oddly. "Who are you talking about?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer him, but quickly shut it, shaking his head. He really didn't want to say anything at the moment. Not really sure that he would be able to control what he was saying

Sai shrugged and rolled back to his own desk. Once there he turned back to his computer and continued with what he was doing before making the mail run. Naruto did nothing but sit quietly in his seat, allowing the thoughts to intermingle with one another until they were indistinguishable.

"Why is my life so messed up right now?" he asked himself. "I mean, it's not the worst ever. I know that. Hell, I should probably wondering about Chouji right now, and Sakura's with him, and Shino is right, that can't be good. But Shikamaru hasn't asked me for help yet, but is it okay to just assume that he has everything under control. And even knowing that everyone else is having problems, I can't help but put Hinata at the top of whatever priority list I make. All I want is to have her understand what was happening that day, even if I don't fully know what happened. Still, I want her to know that I don't love Sakura, I love her."

"Are you talking to yourself?" Sai called over to him.

Naruto looked up and locked eyes with Sai. He smiled softly. "Guess you can't have soliloquies in real life."

"You must be stupid for even thinking that you could," Sai told him.

"Thanks," muttered the blonde and looked back down upon the surface of the desk.

Sai exited the website he was looking at and focused on the depressed looking individual only a few feet away.

"So everything you were saying before," he directed at him, "that was all about Hinata?"

Naruto nodded, not bothering to to say anything.

"Huh?" Sai started out thoughtfully. "So you figured out you've been in love with her all these years. I'm surprised you did."

Naruto's head snapped up. "What d'you mean all these years?"

Sai glanced over at him casually. "You know, you never asked me about those pictures I took that one day with her."

Naruto stood up from his chair and strolled over to the other boy's desk. "What do you mean, all these years?"

"They all came out really well," Sai went on. "I couldn't use all of them though 'cause then it would have been too much, but it would've been great-"

Naruto grabbed his collar and pulled him forwards. "Sai, if you don't fucking answer me, so help me, you are going to be eating through a tube."

Despite the threat, Sai merely smiled up at him. "Why is it that you never asked me about those pictures, Naruto?"

"What does that matter?" he asked.

"It would have been polite if you had," he told the blonde. "And it might have made things a lot easier for you."

As though getting the hint, Naruto let go of his hold and backed away a pace. He watched Sai lower himself back into his own seat with that smile still in place.

"Okay," Naruto said. "How did those pictures turn out, Sai?"

Sai's smile widened. "I'm glad you asked."

Sai bent over and opened one of the bottom drawers. He pulled out a small portfolio and placed it on the desk. He opened it up carefully and rifled through the photos kept in there. He paused every now and then until finally pulling one out.

"I like this one the best," he said and handed it over to Naruto. "Reminds me of a drawing."

Naruto took the photo from his grasp and stared down into the picture. He felt like his heart had stopped beating. "This.. When did you do this?"

"When you left looking for somewhere to eat," Sai answered.

"This is the same position that I had my last faerie in," he said. "It looks just like her. How-"

"When I saw her again at your place," Sai said, already knowing his question, "in an instant I saw that the shape of her body, the way her hair moved, the shape of her face, they all matched what you've been drawing. Fill in the face with hers, see if it doesn't match that too."

Naruto all but ran back to his desk and pulled open the drawer that he kept his own stuff in. He pulled out the newer sketch pad and flipped through the pages, searching for the last picture that he had drawn, the one that Hinata was positioned like in the photo Sai had just shown him. As he hurriedly drew in her face, Sai walked over to him and watched from over his shoulders as the blank space was become filled quickly.

When it was done, Naruto dropped the pencil and fell back into the chair.

"It's right," he said. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"I'm pretty sure, that if you did that with all them, they would come out looking right. How long have you been drawing the Faceless Fae, Naruto?"

"Four years," he answered quietly. "It started half-way through the last year of middle school, after Eiji had died and I went back. Hinata was the first one to approach me, and I remember thinking for a second that maybe I was sharing something with her... I started drawing the Fae a few weeks after that. Oh, my God, have I.."

"Remember when I said this could be considered a psychological issue?" Sai asked him. "Maybe it was just your subconscious trying to tell you something."

"This is completely unreal. Oh my God, I am the slowest fucking idiot on this Earth. Why can't I fucking see these things?!"

He stood up suddenly. "I need to go. I need to go see her. Cover for me. I'm taking this."

Naruto picked his things up faster than he had ever before and ran out of the room along with Sai's photo of Hinata.

Sai walked over to the door and closed it. After which, he calmly walked back to his seat and clicked back on-line.

xxx

Hinata sat cross legged on the sofa in the basement of her home. It was colder then usual because of the rain, but it was the only place that she felt actually at home so she dealt with it. Sasuke sat on the opposite side of the couch. Neji had sat in between them as means of some sort of over protective barrier, which she kind of giggled at, but wasn't occupying the space at them moment. She had asked him for a glass of water so that she would be able to have some time with Sasuke alone.

It was more of a test to see if she could forget Naruto for the short while he was here. That way, Hinata knew that with time, and with Sasuke's help, she would be able to forget about the traitorous blonde boy and move on with someone who had loved her for so long. She desperately wanted it to be so. Anything to stop from feeling the way she had been recently.

She was about to turn to him and say something when she heard shouts from above. Both she and Sasuke stood up from their seats.

"I'll see what's going on," she told him. "You can stay here."

"Are you positive?" he asked.

She nodded and watched as he sat back down. She then walked to the staircase and climbed upward. Going through the door frame and walking down one of the hallways, she heard the shouting coming from the front door.

"After what you did, there's no way I'm letting you in!"

"Can't you even hear me out about what happened!"

"Hinata already told me what happened!"

"But she doesn't know everything!"

"And knowing everything will make what you did better!"

Hinata turned the corner and saw Neji standing with the main door opened, and in front of him was none other than the one person she so wanted to forget all about.

"Neji."

Despite the way she said his name softly, they both heard her from behind. Neji turned instantly to her, revealing the other boy in full.

"Hinata," he said.

"We heard some shouting downstairs," she said and approached the two of them. "I came up to see what was going on."

"I was dealing with it," Neji told her. "Go back downstairs."

"Hinata," Naruto called out and at the same time tried to get past Neji. "Please, hear me out."

"She's not going to hear anything from you," Neji said and pushed him back further out.

"Neji," Hinata said. "I'll deal with him, go back downstairs."

Neji looked at her curiously. "Are you sure. I could easily handle him."

"Yes," she answered. "Go back and keep Sasuke company."

Naruto's breath hitched at the sound of his name. Neji nodded towards her and walked back inside. Hinata slipped on a pair of shoes and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her. She approached the boy and grabbed his arm, gripping tightly and walking towards the street, leading him the entire way.

"I don't know what you're doing here," she said. "But I don't want to see you. I don't want to look at you, and I definitely don't want to hear anything that you have to say."

"Hinata," he said. "I know something now that neither one of us did before. I know that whatever happened that day, Sasuke was behind it."

She stopped and let him go, turning to face him while doing so.

"Sasuke was the one who forced you to date Sakura?"

"Well, no not exactly, but listen to me!" He grabbed at her arm when realizing that she was going to walk away and pulled her into him slightly. "Hinata, I love you, I've been in love with you for longer than I actually thought I was. Look."

He pulled out the photo he had taken from Sai and showed it to her. She took it from him and glanced over at it casually.

"What is this supposed to mean?"

"Hinata, you're my Fae, the one that I've been trying to draw for so long but never could. This is like, proof that I've loved you for years now."

"If you've loved me for so long," she said. "Then why have you been trying to get with Sakura all these years?"

"Because I'm an idiot, and I couldn't see it."

She thrusted the photo back into his hand. "That's not good enough." With that, she started to walk away.

He immediately grabbed at her arm in a futile attempt of pulling her back to him. Before he was even able to secure his hand around, Hinata wrenched it away fiercely.

"Don't touch me," she growled. "Ever again."

"You're not giving me a chance to explain what happened," Naruto argued.

"If you're so innocent about the whole thing, then what is there to explain?!" she cried.

"Because you thought something was between us and there isn't! That's what I'm trying to get through to you!"

"I don't need to listen to you." She started walking away from him again when he yelled after her.

"So what?! You're going to run away from this now?!"

She stopped and turned to him. "I'm not running away from anything, I'm walking away from you. Ever since you found out that I loved you, you've either avoided me or toyed with me!"

"I wasn't toying with you! Alright, I was being honest with you and you thought I was just playing!"

"What was I supposed to think after seeing that!" she yelled. "You can't tell me you didn't want it because I was there watching it happen. You didn't do anything to stop her."

"I didn't know then!" Naruto defended himself.

"Stop making excuses," she sneered. "I'm sick of playing your games."

"For fucks sake! I'm not playing a game here! It was Sasuke-"

"Of course!" she exclaimed and threw her hands in the air for a brief moment. "Because it's just this huge conspiracy that Sasuke came up with, right? Because he just came up with this plan to get you to mack out with someone else and for me to walk in at that exact moment, right?!"

He said nothing.

"Save it, Naruto," Hinata said. "I'm through here. I already told you before how I feel about all of this now. So, please, just stop already. All you're doing is hurting yourself. I'm leaving now." She tried once more to walk away.

"Back to Sasuke, right?" he called out again.

And once again she paused in her step and turned to face him. "That's right. I'm going back to Sasuke, not you."

'I'm done,' she said to herself while walking away from Naruto. 'I'm done with him. I have someone now and that's all that matters..'

"That's a real healthy way to get over someone y'know!" he shouted after her again. She didn't stop and turn around this time. "Using another person for your own selfishness, that's real big right there!"

Still, she wouldn't stop walking away from him. He began to panic. "I don't believe you! I still think you love me!"

She kept moving forward. He yelled out again, "Hinata!"

Her pace slowed down while the echo of his cry rebounded against their surroundings. But with one small shake of her head she quickened her step and was out of his sight, leaving him to stand alone in the rain.

tbc. . .

(1) I still believe that to this day. It should have been Luna! -cries-

A/N: Hey people out there! In case you haven't heard, there's a Naruto Fanfiction Award thing going on. People are voting for fanfics and author's for different categories to wing. For more info on it, go to Jesse Briceno's profile and it's all explained there. I thought it was the most kopacetic idea ever so I'm spreading the word. If you can't find him using the search engine, I've added him to our Favorite Author's list for quick access, so just go to the troupe profile and he's there under the label. Some fics that I'm promoting for a win:

**Opposites Attract **(There's actually two fics with the same name so vote for the one that has both words capatalized)

**Suicidal **(It was the only one that I read, in the category.. guess I should check out the other one)

**The Mulberry Tree **(Yes, I'm aware that it's SasuNaru, but family y'know?)

**You don't deserve me **(Really, I only like this because Gaara reminds me of Aragorn. But it's still pretty good)

Anyway, awesome fics and awesome reads, you should check them out... Well, I get it if you don't want to read The Mulberry Tree, that's fine with me if you don't read it. The first chapter was bad editing anyway. Alright then, quick shout out to people below and I'm gone.

Allan pike: I'd be glad to give you a hand with your stuff. Always up to help out a fellow author.

Atrumfides: Hey, doesn't the ending look familiar? XD I actually decided to end it like that because the rest I realized, was just unnecessary.

Billie: All I wanted was someone to acknowledge and give a damn, and that's exactly what I got. Many of them in fact. So my answer is no. Because really thinking about it, my glass isn't half empty at all. Now, if I was given the opportunity to stop other things from happening, then I might take that up. XP But yeah, send it on MySpace and I'll beta, my e-mail's giving me issues.

Chronostorm: Don't worry about it, I've had many of those moments in my lifetime. XD And I have no idea why they would label that under Naruto/Hinata, but like I said, I guess it just depends on whatever reason they have. Still, it was kind of misleading.

Hali-chan: She did call him back, just to let you know.

Madge: Say it all you want, you're still not the original "Beauty". And that's the truth. XP I onwy speak the twuth. -laugh-

Misa-chan: Misa, I've had to tell this to Lolly and her clan many times, we're not part of whatever is left of the underground anymore, you don't have to address us formally, and yes, adding -sama is equivalent to Your Highness even if it's a bit toned down. Laith is fine and just overall preferred. 'Kay:)

xxxturkey: I didn't ask if I could promote your fic on my own, so I hope that's okay with you. :)

In other news, I finally got high speed on my computer! Yay! Now I can watch Shippuden all I want and don't have to deal with inconsiderate bastards who don't even invite me over to watch it when they do! -shakes fist- But anyway, I feel so stupid. I watched up to episode 17 and I cried. -sweatdrop- Yeah, I knew that it was going to happen and I know that everything's alright in the end.. well, as alright as it could be, but I still cried. I'm such a fangirl! But at least it's not in the crazy Madge way. -shrugs- Whatever, it happened. Still.. they're never going to let me live it down. Well, then, don't forget to vote in the awards thing! Mad love, peace out.

beta's note: hey! i did my damdest when editing that. it's hard to make a lemon appropriate! (cough) and i am never going to let her live that down. and to be fair i wasn't even in town when i started watching shippuden. L::O::V::E is up for two awards so make sure to go vote! also the dreamers are up for author of the year so vote for that to! and reivew! don't forget! 125th (which is actually the 126th not counting the flame) reveiwer get this fic dedicated to them. looks like it's gonna be a close call.


	30. III, vi

xxx  
Scene VI: "As due to love as thoughts, and dreams, and sighs, wishes, and tears, poor fancy's followers."  
xxx

Naruto woke up to the sound of his alarm going off. Instead of climbing down the ladder and turning it off like any other person would have done, he threw the pillow over the railing and caused it to crash to the floor. The pillow then fell on top of it, muffling the annoying buzz sound dramatically. He flopped backwards with a sigh moved hands to rest behind his head.

"I don't want to go to school," he said. "It's bad enough knowing the bastard has the upper hand, but to actually see it, that's a completely different story."

He kicked the blankets off of his body and sat up as much as he could.

"Ideally, I would like to talk to Ino and see what she knows, but I get the feeling that she'll be too wrapped around Sakura to help me out. And I don't even know what the hell is up with Sakura. And I can't really wait for either one of them to come around. God knows what this could turn into to if I do."

He feel forward onto his stomach and gathered the blanket into a makeshift pillow. 

"How did it end up this way? Can't help but think that realy. Can't really help but just wonder what the hell was the reason that all of this happened. How did I end up feeling pathetic? It's all because I'm a fucking idiot really. Because I can't even see the most obvious thing ever. Because I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot. I'm more retarded than Carl Rove is evil."

The silence around him only made him feel all the more alone.

"If Hinata were here she would have laughed. Then again if she were here I wouldn't be in this position. Nah, instead I'd be wondering what she was doing here so early in the morning. On a school day nonetheless."

He shook his head clean of silly thoughts and let his gaze travel along the opposing wall. Much of the artwork that he had posted up were from various manga. The characters either interacting with another person from their respective titles, or fan art that had been declared good enough to be tacked up on an adolescents wall. His eyes eventually fixed themselves upon a mini poster he had ripped out of a magazine.

The small adolescent girl depicted had her hair pulled back sloppily, leaning against a tree in full bloom and while everything looked full of life, she looked dead inside.

"What should I do, Ciggy?" he asked. "If you were in my situation, what would you do?"

Whether through his incredible want of an answer or just because the angst invasion to his mind caused him to temporarily go mental, he saw the figure in the poster turn to talk to him. (1)

"Well," she said and pulled a cigarette from the inside of her coat. "I wouldn't find myself in this situation, considering the hell I'm in now, but it ain't like I don't know from nothing on this kind of stuff. So then, you're stuck on this choice bit of calico who's already given ya the icy mitt and's with that other high hat fella. If ya want to me to level with ya, Kid, ya messed yaself by taking out that chunk of lead when ya did."

"Yeah I know. I'm the one left holding the bag there, but actually wanting it to not be a date wasn't a line."

"Tell it to Sweeney."

"Alright, fine. Maybe part of me actually wanted it to be, but on the level when I say that it was only 'cause I was balled up at the moment and just wanted to see which Jane it was I was stuck on."

"And that's when Joe Brooks stumbled upon a poor little bunny and pocketed loose change. Kopacetic."

"So's your old man," he replied.

"Like hell he is. Alright Mac, what happened there is practically being doublecrossed. There's none on your side, but I'm on the up and up when I say that ya still got a chance with this tomato."

"Spill."

"No one falls out of love that easily," she said. "'Specially a love like this right here. All ya have to do is prove that no one else will do. Is has to be her."

"But how do I do that?!" he cried.

She shrugged. "You're the one that wants to be the skirt's goof, ya should have the goods on what it takes. I'm sure somewhere in the empty head of yours there's a sockdollager. Just keep in mind, as long as it's for the doll, nothing is too much and there sure ain't nothing wrong with whatever it is."

Naruto scrunched his eyes closed at the feeling of a headache coming on. While doing so, an idea struck him. His eyes snapped open and widened.

"I got it!" he shouted and jumped up quickly. He was so fast that he smacked his head against the ceiling and ended up rubbing the back of it to dull the pain.

"I know what I can do now," he said once the pain subsided. "I'm a little concerned that I just had a conversation with a poster, but I'll worry about that later."

He stepped over the railing and made his way down the small ladder. He wouldn't be going to school today, there was work to be done.

xxx

Though the minutes between classes are never very long, it is always amazing at what could be done during the time given to students. Not to be underestimated, the events that could unfold because of one passing period could be life changing. It all depends on how said passsing period was spent. Even something as simple as passing a note on to another person could be probable cause for drastic change. Nothing is unimaginable and nothing is impossible.

Lee spotted Tenten in the midst of bodies pushing past each other to get to their next lesson and called out to her. Tenten, forgetting everything that had happened previously with the boy for the moment, cut through the middle of people walking to the opposing wall where he stood.

"What's up?" she asked. 

"Tenten," he said. "I really want you to reconsider what you said to me that day."

Tenten recoiled slightly, the past catching up to her. "Lee, before you go any further with that, first of all, I will say sorry for sounding like a bitch, but more or less, I really did mean it. Can we please just stay friends? I don't think I could ever think of you like that, so, sorry I guess."

"Why not?" he asked. "What is it about me that you cannot find likable."

"It's not that your not likable," she said. "It's just, I don't know but, I don't think I could treat you more as just a friend. Now, I got to find Kiba and get to class. You should get going to."

With that she walked away. Lee looked after her, a realization that his romantic life with her had gone from little hope to no hope in the short time they spent talking with one another, and left with the lingering thought of desperate times call for desperate measures.

xxx

"Shikamaru."

He looked sideways at a very worried looking Ino. 

"What is it?" he asked.

"You seem to know more about what's going on then I do," she said. "With them, I mean."

"Not much more," he told her.

"But still more," she argued. "Shikamaru, what is Sakura doing?"

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, to sound so much like an after school special, the two of them are dealing with drug abuse."

"What?!" Ino cried, earning her some stares from nearby students. "Why didn't you say anything to me earlier."

"You never asked," he replied.

Ino grabbed his collar and pulled him closer to her. "That's because I figured you would have had the common sense to fill me in after I found you yesterday while searching for them."

"I thought you knew already," he said bluntly.

"Well I didn't. How the hell couldn't you have gotten that?"

"It's not like we did a lot of talking yesterday."

She let go of him. "True," she sighed and ran her hand halfway through her pulled hair. "What do we do now."

Shikamaru looked away from her, settling his gaze on the ground somewhere off to the side. "Can't really do anything," he muttered.

"The hell I can't!" she exclaimed. "Sakura's out there sticking I don't even know what into her body, and you're saying that I can't do anything about it?! That's my best friend you're talking about, the one that I've known since we were kids. And Shikamaru, aren't you supposed to be the same with Chouji? How can you not want to help him?"

"It's not that I don't want to help him, Ino," he said sharply. "It's that I can't. I can't help him because he won't let me and I don't know what to do."

"What about his parents?" she asked.

"Would you let Sakura's parents find out what she was doing?"

She shook her head. 

"It wouldn't go down so well, would it?" he asked.

"No," she admitted. "It wouldn't. But, Shikamaru, what can we do?"

"Watch," he answered. "Watch and hope to whatever higher being there is that nothing bad will happen."

"I can't do that," she said softly. "It's not right."

"No," he agreed. "It isn't. We should be doing more. But Ino, they've already teamed up against us, they showed that yesterday by not being caught by us. I think they honestly think they can co-exist with what they're taking, and that's just stupid."

"It'll kill them," Ino said absentminded.

"Most likely."

"Shikamaru!"

"You said it."

"You didn't have to agree with it," she huffed. She took a deep breath before settling down. "I don't feel right about it. I don't feel okay with just watching her afar when I don't even know where she is half the time."

"I know," Shikamaru replied. "I don't like it either. But the more we try to force ourselves on them, the more defensive they'll become, and that'll make things even harder. We're stuck on the sidelines, Ino. All we can do is watch. Watch and hope that they'll ask for help soon. I would hate.. I would hate for something other than that to happen."

Ino slumped a little and felt herself become a little teary-eyed. All of this was becoming a bit too much for her.

"Why?" she heard herself ask weakly. "Why is it.. Why this?"

Shikamaru looked over towards her. "A girl."

Ino looked up at him. "Wha?"

"At least that's why Chouji started," he explained. "He wanted to lose weight for a girl."

"A girl," Ino repeated. "Then Sakura.. it could all be because of a boy."

She clenched her fists. 

"I'm going to kill him," she murmured. "So help me, God, I will kill him."

xxx

Kiba took another look around the corner to see if Hinata was coming there way. After seeing her approaching but still some distance away, he turned over to Tenten.

"Are you sure we should ask her now?"

Tenten looked over at him. 

"I mean," he went on. "Naruto's not hear to question."

"That's true," she said. "But, I'm starting to feel uneasy about this too. I don't know why, but I just feel like, I don't know, it's weird."

"Disturbance in the Force."

"Will you stop saying that," she sighed. "It makes it seem like it's not such a big deal."

"But making things seem like not a big deal helps me out with them," he told her. "That way I'm able to deal with it better. Besides, I really mean it when I say there's a disturbance in the Force."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Is she coming?"

Kiba looked around the bend again. "Yeah, here she comes."

The pair moved away from the wall that they hid behind and revealed themselves to the oncoming girl. Hinata stopped in front of them.

"Hey, guys," she greeted in a cheerful tone.

"Hinata, can we ask you something?" Tenten questioned.

Hinata's brow furrowed a little. "Sure."

"What happened between you and Naruto?" Kiba asked point blank. Tenten elbowed him slightly. "What? That's what we wanted to find out."

"You didn't have to say it like nothing though," she chided.

"You asked your question like nothing," he argued.

"My questions was just asking if we could ask a question."

"It was still said the same way as me."

While they bickered back and forth with each other, Hinata had started to walk away from them with a somewhat gloomy look plastered onto her face. Kiba was the first to not only realize her departure, but also her expression. He caught onto her arm before she was able to leave their presence entirely.

"Hey," he called out. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said without looking back at him. "I just need to get somewhere."

"Hinata," he said, "What's wrong? What happened?"

She turned back to address him directly. "Kiba, it's nothing, really."

"That's a crock full of shit. Come on, Hinata, you've known me for how long? What happened with the two of you? I wanna know, I wanna help."

"Not only him," Tenten interjected. "I want to help out too."

"That's nice of both of you," Hinata said. "But there really is nothing to help with."

"But not that ago, you guys were practically dating and now, I don't know," Tenten told her. "I don't know what happened over the weekend, and as your friend I want to help you."

'And make up for things I've thought about you,' she added silently to herself.

"I get what she's saying," said Kiba. "I mean, Naruto told me himself that he wanted to be with you and now I see you hanging on when I know you've loved the other idiot since, well like, forever."

"Things change," Hinata replied casually. "Stuff happens, and that's all there is to it."

"But what happened?" Kiba pressed.

Hinata lowered her head and breathed deeply to keep her voice calm. "He told me that he wanted to be with me as well. But, apparently, he was also with Sakura at the same time. I caught them together and that's when I broke away from him." She looked up at them, her eyes slightly misting over. "That's it. There's nothing to fix, because there's nothing there. I got to go now."

She was able to get away without either one stopping them again. Both Kiba and Tenten were slightly paralyzed by shock on hearing such a tale. 

"I don't believe it," Tenten said once her spell wore off. "That's.. Does that even have some chance of being true. Then again, why would Hinata lie? And I know that I joked about Naruto doing something like that, but he never actually seemed like the type who would. Hard to believe, really."

"That sonuvabitch," Kiba growled. 

Tenten raised her eyebrows questioningly. "What?"

"I'm gonna kick his ass!" he yelled. "He fucking told me that he wasn't going to hurt her and that's exactly what he fucking did! I'm gonna kick his ass!" 

Kiba pushed her a little to the side and stormed past her. Tenten sped walked to keep up with him.

"Where are you going?"

"Didn't you hear me?" he asked her. "I'm going to his house, crash through the front door, and make it so that he can never have kids."

"Are you even sure he's at home?"

"Where else is he going to be? He ain't at work 'cause it's too early."

"He could be at the Ichiraku's. It wouldn't be a good idea to do something like that in public."

"Fine, then I'll stalk the ramen shop, see if he's there, and if he is wait 'till he gets home and then make sure he never has kids." Kiba looked down at his watch. "There's not that much time left, I gotta get to the front gates now if I don't wanna get caught."

He took off running with Tenten chasing after him.

xxx

Meanwhile, Ino slammed her fist against the wooden table for the umpteenth time that day. It was only then that Neji finally decided to say something about it.

"If you don't want to be in here for lunch, Ino, you could just leave."

Ino looked up immediately and slid her hand off of the surface sheepishly. "Sorry. I have a lot on my mind."

"Violent thoughts apparently."

"Extremely violent thoughts," she elaborated. "All about a certain Uchiha that I can't find today otherwise he would have been on the way to the mortuary by now. It's all his fault, I know it is."

She slammed her fist against the wood once more and Neji raised an eyebrow slightly. It was after all Ino, and as far as he could remember she was the same as Sakura when it came to Sasuke. But it was apparent to him that the Uchiha had done something unsavory to gain such a reaction from the girl. Normally, he would have brushed it off as unimportant, but seeing as how the boy had somewhat struck up a relationship with Hinata, pressed the matter further.

"It's strange to hear you say something like that about him," he said nonchalantly.

"I know, I know," she said. "Everyone's so used to me saying nothing but fangirlish things about him, but to hell with all that. I've long since stopped thinking like that about the bastard now. He a good-for-nothing, selfish, arrogant, prick who uses people to get what he wants."

"Wait, what?"

She ignored his question though, too wrapped up in her train of thought to really hear anything other than the sound of her own voice. 

"I told her," she went on. "I fucking told Sakura that there was no way he was into her, I told her that he wasn't really in love with her. I knew there was no way that they could have been dating. I knew all that but all I did was let my own stubborn side take over and told her that I didn't care anymore. This is my fault too, I know it is. I should have gotten involved in it more, I should have had her tell me more about what was going one. I should have done more as a friend. I should have, but I didn't. And now, I don't know what to do. But I do know that I'm going to kill him for, I don't if he forced her or just convinced her to do whatever happened so that he could get his way and then throw her out like that. Yes, I will kill him."

Suddenly her eyes went wide. She shot up from her seat, startling the boy slightly. "But if he got what he wanted, then that means that he screwed someone else over too. I need to tell Naruto. No, wait. Who's the priority. Shikamaru said I couldn't do anything but watch, but how can I watch if I don't even know where the hell she is? I should find him and tell him that if they're not even going to come to school, then neither should we. School can wait, there are other things that are more important. I'll just convince him that we need to know where they're at all the time to keep a better eye on them, and then maybe we can swing by Naruto's and I can tell him what I know. Yeah, I'll do that. Then, after all this is taken care of, I'll kill the asshole!"

Ino clumsily gathered her things and ran from the room, fully aware that there was only so much time left for their lunch. If she wanted to catch Shikamaru and escape from school, she would have to do it quickly. Time was running out.

Neji watched after her. His mind frantically relaying what she had said so that it would make sense to him. She was talking quite fast. 

'Sasuke uses people to get what he wants,' he repeated in his mind. 'He used Sakura somehow, and that angered Ino because now Sakura's doing something that she doesn't approve of. Shikamaru's involved in that somehow. And Sakura's doing whatever it is because Sasuke got what he wanted and threw her aside. But did what Sasuke get?'

Hinata then appeared at the doorway that Ino had left open from her own dashing exit. 

"Sorry," she said. "Lunch is almost over, I know, but I still came by."

"Everyone's gone already," Neji told her. "What took you so long?"

"Sasuke wanted to give me something," she responded.

"What was it?"

Hinata reached under the front of her shirt and pulled out a chain with a ring hanging on it. "He said I should wear it on my finger, but I like it better on the chain."

Neji reached over and took the small piece of jewelry between his fingers. Realizing that the answer to his own question was right in front of him.

xxx

The continuous pounding on his door made Naruto finally give up the idea that whoever it was would eventually leave.

"I'm coming!" he called out and grasped at the handle. Once he opened he was forced back by a punch to the face.

"Kiba!" he heard a feminine voice call out, unable to clarify who it was at the moment because of the pain he felt.

Before being able to pick himself back up, Naruto was hoisted up by the scruff of his neck. Only then was Naruto able to register that he was about to be pummeled and struggled to free himself. Kiba was unable to keep a firm grip on him and ended up letting him go. Once free, Naruto then realized who it was that had hit him only moments ago.

"What the hell, Kiba?" he asked. "What did I do to you?"

"You lied!" he yelled. "Don't even try to deny that you didn't hurt her, I saw the way she looked, you bastard!"

Naruto dodged another punch thrown by him.

"Wait up!" the blonde exclaimed. "I know what you're talking about and if Hinata was the one who told you about it, then there's another side you don't know about."

"What the fuck does that matter?!"

"It matters a lot, dumbass!" Tenten shouted from her position, causing both of them to focus on her. "Naruto, what do you mean?"

Naruto eyed Kiba and only when he was nodded at did he say anything. "I fucked up, I know that. Sakura asked me out, she said it wasn't a date so I took her up on it. And this was after I had told you that I wanted to be with Hinata. But, I don't know, I guess I just needed to do something that would break me off from her completely, I don't know, but I'm not saying that to justify what happened. Hinata saw us together, then ran off, I chased her, and she kind of just broke up any kind of relationship we could have had."

"That sounds like exactly what she told us," Kiba said.

"Wait 'till I finish," Naruto snapped. "But I was talking with Shino, who overheard Ino saying something about how Sasuke being in love with Hinata and wanting to be with her, but was with Sakura the same week she asked me out."

"Why would Sakura ask you out if she was dating Sasuke?" Tenten asked.

"Exactly," Naruto said. "That had me start to think that Sasuke could have made it so that I would be set up and Hinata would end up with him."

"That sounds like a bigger conspiracy theory then the blood pyramid scheme you thought up," Kiba told him.

"But it's not impossible," Tenten said. "Kiba, we know Naruto how well? And what do we know about Sasuke? The only thing we have in common with him is that we've gone to the same schools since elementary. Couldn't it be true?"

Kiba shrugged. "I guess." He looked at Naruto. "What are you gonna do about all this?"

"I'm trying to fix it," he said. "I would tell her all that I head, but do you honestly think that she would listen to me?"

"Hell no," answered Tenten. Naruto looked over at her. "You asked."

Naruto waved it off. "I know, I know. I thought the same thing too. She's not going to listen to me, so I need to show her exactly how much she really does mean to me."

"How are you gonna pull that off?" Kiba asked.

"I have an idea," he said and walked over to the laptop sitting on the kitchen table. He motioned for them to come over and take a look.

"What the hell?" Kiba thought aloud.

"We were talking one night," Naruto said. "And she said-"

"That she always wanted-" Tenten cut him off but was cut off by Naruto.

"You know too?"

Tenten nodded. "Slumber party at her place long time ago. Told us then. Don't really know why."

"Neither do I, but to hell with it, if I have to look like jackass, I'll do it."

"How far?" she asked.

"Not much," he answered. "I suck."

"I know, I've heard you before."

"Hey."

"It's true. You have your work cut out for you."

"I know, that's why I'm not going to school until I'm ready."

"Wow, that's commitment. Do you need any help?"

"Actually, I do. I'm gonna need some setting up, I'm probably going to have to break in the night before."

"Kiba and I'll help you," Tenten said.

"What?!" Kiba exclaimed. "Don't drag me into it."

"You said that you wanted to help them."

"How is this going to help?"

"Don't question it," she said. "Look, I know Hinata and me aren't the closest ever, but I do know her enough that when he does this, she will listen to him."

"But he doesn't even know the entire story."

"But I do know a lot more than she does," Naruto said. "I just need Ino to tell me what she knows so that I can piece together the rest."

"We should've brought Ino with us," said Tenten.

"We didn't even know Ino was involved," Kiba told her.

"I'll talk with Ino when I can," said Naruto. "Right now, I need to worry about this. I'm not letting this go on any longer. I want her to see Sasuke as a bastard, I'm not gonna love anyone but her, and that all go to the breaking point of selling out for her. Now, will you guys help me?" 

"I'm in," said Tenten.

"Nu uh," Kiba said. "Not me. I'm not getting involved. I don't want Hinata to hate me for helping you out, 'cause that's what she'll do if whatever you're thinking fails."

"Kiba!" Tenten shouted. "Do you remember when you wanted to talk to me and I said on one condition?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm making this that condition, we're helping Naruto."

Kiba opened his mouth to protest but couldn't find a way around it. He kicked a close by wall and let out an aggravated growl. "Fine. What can I do."

"I actually need your help the most, Kiba," Naruto said. "You have access to all of SUburbIA's405" value="Suburbia's, Suburb's, Suburbs, Suburbia, Suburbans" / property, right?" 

"Yes," he answered, not really liking where this was going. 

"And, having access to all that, means you have access to all stores connecting to SUburbIA, right."

"Yeah."

"And all of their property."

"Get on with it, you're making me feel uneasy."

"I'm gonna need to borrow some stuff."

"You want me to steal?" 

"No, not steal. You're gonna put it back. But that's why I said we might have to do this the night before. Cover of darkness. And Tenten you can drive already, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "But getting a car for what I'm thinking you're gonna need, that's gonna be a problem."

"Damn," Naruto swore under his breath. "We're gonna need some more people to help out."

"But who-"

There was a knock at the front door. Naruto nodded at Kiba to answer it. He walked over and turned the handle.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Ino pushed passed him, not bothering to answer Kiba's question and after spotting Naruto at the table walked over to him with Shikamaru trailing behind him.

"Naruto, I need to tell you something," she said. 

"Is it about Sasuke?" he asked.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Do you know?"

"Sorta," he said. "But if you didn't talk to yourself then I wouldn't know anything. Shino told me what he heard from you."

Ino looked a bit taken aback. "I thought I was alone. Well, he's always so quiet that I guess I forgot I was there. But do you know everything."

"No, I was actually gonna ask if you could spill what you knew."

"Sorry, I've been freaking out over Sakura, that I forgot all about how what that asshole could have done to you and Hinata. That's actually why I came over here."

"Why is Shikamaru here?" Tenten asked her.

"She dragged me here," he said.

"We actually have something else to do after this," Ino said.

"Ino, I'm telling you we can't do anything. We have no leads, we have nothing. We're not going to be able to find them."

"And I'm telling you that if I have to watch then I'd rather be close by doing than just wondering."

"That would be more painfull than it would be comforting."

"What are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru looked at him. "You remember what's going on with Chouji?"

Naruto nodded, then slightly gasped. "Not Sakura too."

Ino nodded sadly.

"Oh my God," Naruto muttered. He looked up at the two of them. "Let me help you guys."

"There's nothing that anyone can do," Shikamaru said. "There are moments were we can act, but they haven't shown themselves yet. When they do though, you can help us then."

Naruto nodded while Tenten and Kiba looked back and forth at everyone confused. 

"What's going on?" Kiba asked.

"It's a long story," Ino told him. "But it kind of goes along with what I was going to tell Naruto."

"Well, Sakura's part," Shikamaru put in. "Chouji starts before any of this."

"Shit, and I just came here to kick Naruto's ass," Kiba muttered.

"What?!" Ino exclaimed and looked back at him. "Why?"

"Hurting Hinata," he answered simply. 

"You should hurt Sasuke then."

"Hey," Tenten said suddenly. "If Ino knows the story, then why not just have her tell Hinata what happened."

"That wouldn't work," Shikamaru said. "Right now I'm guessing Hinata's so pissed off at him over there, yeah Ino told me all about it when we were talking about Sakura, that no matter what any of us say she won't believe it because it's defending him. And I'm sure you already tried putting the blame on Sasuke, so that'll just make it even more impossible for her to take in, knowing that it's a story that you already tried using."

"So then what?" Tenten asked. "Is she never going to know the truth?"

"No," Shikamaru told her. "She can find out the truth, but she won't believe the truth until she's already forgiven him."

"Well how the hell is that going to happen?!" Ino cried.

"Naruto has a plan for that to happen," Tenten told them. 

"You do?" Ino asked him. "What is it?"

"I don't really want to tell anyone who's not involved," he said. "I don't know how much trouble I'd get in, I don't want other people to go down with me."

"Hey, you said you'd help me out with Chouji if I ever asked," said Shikamaru. "And while I technically didn't, I'm taking your help anyway, so I'll help you out with this."

"Me too," Ino said. "Since Sakura's involved with Chouji and I'm involved with Sakura, you're kind of helping me too."

Naruto smiled slightly. "Alright, how 'bout, Ino, go ahead and tell us what you know, then I'll say what happened, we'll figure out what went down, then I'll tell you guys what I have planned. Then we'll figure out how to help Chouji and Sakura when the time is right."

He looked back at the clock hanging on the wall. 

"And we got about two and half hours before I have to get to work."

"Me too," Kiba said and glanced down at his wrist.

"Yeah, I have to help my mom out at the shop today," Ino told them.

"Oh my God, Ino!" Naruto yelled.

"What?! What is it?!"

"You're family has a delivery van, right?"

"Yeah, she answered. "What about it?"

"That's perfect."

"Perfect for what?" asked Shikamaru.

"You'll get it later," Naruto somewhat explained. "Come on, let's get to work."

xxx

Sai sat at his chair, snapping rubber bands into the trash bin. So far, he hadn't missed one yet. But when Naruto walked into the room, he couldn't resist the urge to aim one at the blonde's head, or suppress the smile when hearing that it was a confirmed hit.

"What the hell was that for?!" he shouted.

Sai shrugged. "No reason."

"Why is everyone trying to cause me some bodily harm," Naruto sighed while taking his jacket off and subconsciously rubbing at the already fading bruise on his cheek. 

"Maybe you're just one of those people," Sai told him. "People see you, then want to hit you."

"There are people like that?" 

"Plenty. Haven't you ever seen a person and want to hit them because of the way they look."

Naruto was about to answer in the negative, but then rethought the idea. "Sometimes..."

"Thought so. But anyway, what happened with Hinata yesterday?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer him, but was cut off by their office door opening. A female employee looked in from the door frame, but didn't bother to come in.

"Hiashi is here," she said quietly.

This immediately gain Sai's interest. "Why? He's never here, he's always at the larger office. Are we being inspected?"

She shook her head. She then looked over to Naruto. "How long have you been here?"

"I just got here," he told her. "Why, is something up?"

"I'm not sure why," she said, "but he wants to see you, Naruto."

Naruto stiffened. "Wha? Why?!"

"I don't know," she answered. "But I don't think you should keep him waiting." 

She left shortly thereafter saying so, closing the door quietly behind her. Naruto looked over at Sai.

"What could he possibly want with me?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Hinata."

The thought hadn't even occurred to him. His mind instantly overloaded. "Oh my God, what if it is?! What if he knows what happened?! Well, not what really happened, but half of what happened, because I only found out what really happened but Hinata only knows half of what happened! Oh my God! She told him something and now he's seeking revenge out for his daughter!"

"If you're lucky, maybe he'll just fire you."

"It's not funny, Sai! I could be on my way to the grave. That can't happen to me yet, there's still something left to do! I don't want to die!"

"Look, you're not going to die, okay?"

Hearing those words caused Naruto to settle down a little. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. I'm not going to die."

"Of course, I'm right. He wouldn't kill you here, and besides he'd probably hire someone to do it."

Naruto threw a stack of post-it's at him. "Stupid ass! That's not funny!"

"For me it is," Sai said mostly to himself while watching the blonde boy walk out of the room to an uncertain future. "Well, not really. I'd be scared too."

tbc. . .

(1) Okay, I'm not going to say that this happened to me, but I'm not saying that something similar didn't happen. -sweatdrop- One word: Penguin. That's all your getting out of me. .

A/N: Chapter's a little on the short side, I think the next one is going to be to. Also, the conversation that Naruto is going to have with Hiashi is going to be in a flash back kind of thing next week, in case anyone's wondering about that. Mainly because, next chapter's going to be a little on the short side. But anyway, I hope you guys appreciate this chappy. I woke up Monday feeling... well, feeling not so good. Caught a 24 hr. thing and with me, it usually last about.. two weeks? So, knowing fully that there was no way that I would be able to type anything, and using Nettie to transcribe everything would just be more of a hassle because she has spelling issues (and Salem would just be a gajillion times worse), I pushed aside my own beliefs and took medication. I guess I just love ya guys so much that I didn't want a week to go by without a chapter. Now be thankfull! XP Just kidding. -laugh- It's all good. Just a small threat of a relapse, but I'm doing rather well. Okay! Let's see the responses I have today:

Allan pike: Alright, I've made up my mind. I'll give it to you. 'Cause that was some determination, even if it was a little bit on the cheating side. Take a gander at the first chapter. My Author's Note, not the prolouge.

Fester006: Well, it's almost over, so thanks for still sticking around. Appreciate it much. And thanks, I tried to make it a real as I could.

Hali-chan: First of all, double word! Second, Sasuke definitley wants to be "together" (I don't like using double words so I use quotation marks) but they're really not. It's a kinda, sorta, not really relationship. It's mostly on Hinata's part 'cause she's still in a tangle over Naruto. And as for them not understanding addiction, the fact is that all of us know what addiction is. We grow up learning about it because we're always taught to stay away from it. But really, when someone is an addict, they firmly believe that they have it under control. It's pretty much denial and it doesn't matter what someone on the sidelines tries to do to help becuase the addict won't let them. It's frustrating, it's aggravating, and really, they have to hit rock bottom before they're willing to let anyone help them. That's usually the case. It's not pretty, dangerous as hell, but there's only so much that can be done in this situation.

Madge: -laugh- Oh, my God, is that Carl Rove? Is he kicking a puppy?! When he lies, does a little piece of him die inside? XP There, I made fun of both parties.

xxxturkey: Sorry! There's actually five chapters left. Just goes to prove how awesome my math skills are. -sweatdrop-

So then.. guess I'll hang around on-line for a bit, not really allowed out at the moment. Ah, that's right, gotta beta Billie's fic. I'll do that after checking out OneManga though. Ah my garsh, Naruto last week!! I couldn't believe it!! I still can't!! I don't want to.. but I don't know.. I was all like, "Itaaachiiii!!".. Have to see if it's really over, just have to. Oh, and don't forget to vote in the Naruto Fanfiction Reader's Choice Awards, I think today's the last day to vote! More Importantly, remember to vote for:

**150 Things Konoha Shinobi Are Not Allowed To Do **(My favorite, Barney the Dinosaur is not a valid summons. Or even better, Using Henge to hide my seal, and then running through the streets of Konoha while shirtless and screaming 'IT'S LOOSE! IT'S LOOSE!' is not funny. And a third, Wooden practice kunai's are not specialist tools for hunting vampires. -dies laughing-)

**Opposites Attract **(Which reached the big 3-0 recently. congrats on thirty chapters, forgot to mention that in the review.)

**Suicidal **(I liked it better than the other fic that was running.)

**The Mulberry Tree **(Because it deserves more credit than it's given, despite the pairing. Go Billie!)

**You Don't Deserve Me **(Though I don't really think Naruto is very evil in it. Meh, Gaara's still awesome, being all Aragorn like. It makes me smile, I don't know why.)

Alright then, later lovelies, I'm out!

beta's note: i got a girl friend i got a girlfriend i got a girlfriend... and someone reported my fic for abuse!! that!! no that!! is abuse!! reporting other people fics is abuse... and the dvr cutting off the first four minutes of the scrubs musical is abuse. the worst kind of abuse!! still awesome thoug. me and laith were practically belting out Guy Love. earned weird looks but i get why. laith's not a guy so it was bound to happen.(cough) but anyway last day for voting. don't forget to vote for L:O:V:E as well as for The Dreamers of Dreams for author of the year and like always review!! 


	31. III, vii

xxx  
Scene VII: "From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might never die."  
xxx

Empty coffee cans and soda bottles practically covered the entire floor of Naruto's home. His determination was the cause of his body currently pumped with nothing but caffeine. A sort of self-induced case of insomnia. Drank anything that would allow him to be wide-awake during the night.

Currently, Naruto himself stood in the exact center of the clutter. His eyes were blood shot and his face was a tad greasy from the lack of sleep and not bathing. And even though his eyelids were threatening to close for good, and the newly developed callouses on his fingers were starting to bleed, he couldn't have felt any better than he had at that moment.

His body started to shake, but it wasn't from the exhaustion he felt. It was from both a mixture of pride and excitement.

He then started to laugh. "I can do it," he said. "I still need to keep practicing though. I can't have any mistakes, but I can do it without looking. I'll keep going for the rest of the day, but I know, I'm ready."

Naruto pulled off the strap and set the instrument aside. He walked over to his kitchen table and minimized the window he had been staring at for the better part of the night on his inherited machinery and opened a new one. He signed into his instant messenger and searched for Kiba's screen name.

'The only upside of having a mobile phone,' he thought. 'You can get instant messages on them.'

A smaller window popped up and he typed in his message, stating that he was ready to go. As soon as the message was sent, he prayed to all higher beings that Kiba had put his phone on vibration.

xxx

During English class, Kiba felt a small vibration in his pocket. Knowing fully well that it was his mobile phone and the probability of who it most likely was, snuck it out of its holding and positioned it so that it was hidden beneath his desk but still allowing him to view the message himself.

Just like he had thought, the message was from Naruto. But as he read the message, his eyes slightly widened. He had not expected him to reach his goal so quickly.

'Now what?' he thought while simultaneously typing a reply message back.

A few seconds later, another message came up reading: _we do this thing tonite!_

'Are you sure?' he typed back. 'You're good to go for real?'

Naruto's reply took longer than the last one. But when it came through it read: _yes this time 2morrow ill be able to do it perfectly_

Quickly afterwards, another message came through saying: _inform the others_

Kiba didn't bother to hold back the smirk that formed on his face. 'Can't really hate the kid when he's determined like that,' he thought to himself. 'And I guess it just means that he's really serious about it. Still, I better not get caught for this.'

'They'll know,' he typed back. 'Eat something. Take a bath. Get some sleep. We'll pick you up.'

He stared at the screen after the sending bar had disappeared. Kiba was about to put it back into his pants pocket until it vibrated in the palm of his hand. He quickly moved it back into his viewing position and opened the message.

He almost bursted out laughing when he read: _i'll eat i'll bathe but i'm not going to sleep just yet_

Kiba shook his head a little and pocketed the annoying device. He leaned down a little in his seat and stretched his leg out so that his foot was right underneath Tenten's chair. He lightly tapped with the tip of his shoe, grabbing the girl's attention. Tenten leaned back in her chair, acting like she was stretching, so that Kiba would be able to tell her.

"Naruto sent me a message," he whispered. "We break into school tonight."

"Wait, y'mean, he actually got it down already?" she murmured under her breath.

"He sure did," Kiba replied. "Really makes you think, huh?"

"Not really," she told him. "That just proves how committed he is."

"Tell me about it," Kiba muttered and sat up straight. "I'll get Shikamaru."

"And I got Ino," Tenten said and leaned back forward.

Kiba tried to focus back on the lesson but to no avail. He couldn't stop imagining that by the end of all this he would be out of a job. His only comfort was knowing exactly what kind of security system was installed in his own store and hopefully would be able to get around them.

xxx

To say that Sasuke was relieved to see that the film was finally over would have been an understatement. It was a complete waste of time to him. The storyline was too simple, there was no real substance, he compared it to someone wanting to create a six layer cake by piling nothing but frosting on top of one layer of actual cake. And everything ended in vain really. The fat man lost his theatre, the main character lost the woman he loved, and the so-called Bohemian Revolution ended in failure from what he saw at the beginning. Had there been some actual message to convey, he might have enjoyed himself as much as Hinata had, but alas, there was none. At least none that was evident to him.

He waited outside of the cinema for Hinata to return to his side after inquiring about next month's feature. Hoping the whole while that it would be something she wouldn't be interested in, these labeled revolutionary films were not all that intriguing to him.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't seem as though it was something that disinterest her seeing as how she was smiling happily while walking towards him.

"Great news," she said cheerfully. "They'll be showing A Clockwork Orange next month. Have you heard of it?"

He nodded once and started to walk off in the direction of the train station. "I've seen it once before. I really couldn't see the point of it."

"Well if you've only seen the film," she began while walking next to him, "of course you're not going to be able to see the point."

"I've tried to read the novel," he admitted. "But the constant made up language it was written in made it hard to digest."

"It isn't a made up language," she argued. "It's a satirical look into the way that the youth creates their own usues of certain words, i.e. slang, and uses it to identify with one another. An example of how teenagers remove themselves from the normal society. If it was written in proper grammar it wouldn't have the effect it does."

"Still seems like a bunch of nonsense to me."

"But it all comes together at the end to make a valid point."

"The point being that in the end none of it mattered, he went back to the way he was before the treatment."

"That's not true," she said heatedly. "The ending of the novel and the film are completely different. The true ending is that Alex became bored with the lifestyle and wanted something more out of life."

"And that means what exactly?"

"He gave up the life he was living because he was bored with it and chose to do something productive with the life given to him."

"So he became part of the society he spat upon."

"Yes."

"Still see nothing in it."

She walked ahead of him and stopped in front, making him stop along with her. "It meant that in the end, it doesn't matter because in some point of life everyone wants something more than what they've been living as they get older. He grew out of it because mindless violence no longer appeased him, because that boredom of being a teenager was no longer there."

"Why are you arguing over this?" he asked and walked around her.

"Because the author wanted a message to be heard and when it is, it should be heard correctly," she said and chased after him.

"And you're so certain that what you just said is the correct message?"

"Maybe not entirely," she confessed. "But I would like to think I'm the right path with my own opinion."

"I think I liked you better when you kept those to yourself."

Hinata's step faltered slightly, she was a bit taken aback by the statement. But instead of calling attention to it, she said nothing and walked faster. Sasuke saw the mistake he had made and quickened his own step to keep up with her. He reached out to her and once having a hold onto her hand, pulled her into a light embrace.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm still a bit frustrated from the movie we just saw."

"Moulin Rouge is a great film," she muttered.

"It's all glamour and nothing else," he told her.

"Yes, but underneath all glamour there's something deeper. There always is."

"A romantic idea."

"I am a romantic."

"Well, I see things realistically."

"As a realist would."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she told him and pulled away from him slightly. "I can understand your frustration, I suppose. Let's go."

He nodded slightly to her and continued walking with her hand still in his.

xxx

It wasn't as though Neji knew exactly what Ino was talking about that day. But since then, he was beginning to contemplate how the Uchiha would have invented unsavory tactics in order to gain the affections of his younger cousin. To Neji, it wasn't at all incredibly unimaginable and certainly nothing new to him. After all, he was the one to have picked up his attraction to the girl since their project. But with as little information he was given, there was nothing he could really do about it.

To accuse Sasuke of doing something horrendous would certainly not go well, particularly because he had no proof. Just the nonsensical ramblings of a blonde girl who talked to herself a lot.

He had wanted to have a word with Ino, see if he would be able to leak information out of her without doing so directly, but despite his attempts to strike up a conversation with her, he had been unable to utter a single word towards her. Ino had been preoccupied the entire day and told him so each time he had approached her.

And so because Neji did not known the entire story, he would not say anything about it to Hinata. Even at the times when she would tell him all about their conversations and small outings they had taken since the week began, he would keep his mouth shut about the whole thing until he knew what was what and fairly certain that Sasuke was no good.

"Neji."

The sudden call out of his name snapped him out of his thoughts. Neji instantly turned to in the direction he heard his name being called out and was promptly presented with a clear view of his uncle.

"Yes, Unlce," he answered.

"Tell me," said Hiashi. "Is Hinata home?"

Neji shook his head slightly. "No, she isn't."

'He better not be asking me about her again,' the youth thought bitterly.

Hiashi nodded slightly and turned to walk away. "Have her come into my study when she is."

"What for?" Neji blurted out without even thinking. He winced slightly at his own lack of thinking twice before saying anything.

Hiashi though, paused in his step and turned slightly towards his nephew once more. "I've decided to take your advice," he told him. "I will speak with her directly."

With that he disappeared from Neji's presence. Leaving Neji alone once more and with even more unanswered questions.

xxx

Hyuuga Hiashi did not like to be kept in the dark. Both metaphorically and literally. Not that it was a phobia or anything of the sort. It was more of the fact that he wasn't able to see things clearly as he could when there was light that annoyed him slightly. In any case, for the past few weeks, he had noticed that his daughter had begun to change from the child he once recognized, to someone he did not know at all.

He grinned slightly at the thought. Remembering the words of a certain loud-mouthed blonde who had given him an earful only yesterday on his parenting skills. Though he was a tad bit affronted with what he was told, he couldn't help but find something amusing at how near to the truth that all of it was.

It was only two days ago, when he first cornered his nephew and began to inquire after Hinata. Hiashi knew very well that the reason she had locked herself up in her room was not because of an illness, but he didn't know why was at that was what was beginning to upset him. But no matter what tactic he used to gain any sort of comment, Neji would sidestep it. They went back and forth until Neji finally advised him to speak with her himself if he wanted to know so badly what was wrong with his daughter.

Of course, he did no such thing. Instead, he began to analyze what had occurred in the time from her noticeable change in personality. Pinpointing the day when she became more outspoken. He recognized it as the day when the two adolescents in his household had invited their friends to complete an assignment. He should have realized it sooner than that. How could he have forgotten the sight he stumbled upon before being formally told he had arrived home. After recalling that memory, he had come to the conclusion that it was the blonde boy named Uzumaki Naruto who had the most hand in Hinata's personality change. He made it a point then and there to have a discussion with the boy.

Which is why the previous day, he had gone to the smallest of his offices to work from, knowing full well that the boy was an employee of his there. He had instructed the receptionist at the front to have him sent up to his office as soon as he came in. After doing so, Hiashi made himself at home within the room he set aside for himself, and began to wait patiently.

Sometime during the afternoon there was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he called out loud enough to be heard on the other side.

The door opened stiffly and a timid looking blonde boy shuffled into the room.

"Uh.. You asked for me.. sir?" Naruto added the word at the end unsure.

Hiashi had responded in the positive, semi-ordering him to take a seat in front of his desk. The boy did so nervously.

"Naruto," he began. "May I inquire your relationship with my daughter?"

Though he said it in a tone stating that he would do nothing but. Naruto fidgeted in his seat slightly.

"O-of course," he answered timidly. "I see no problem.. with that."

"So then tell me, what is your relationship with her?"

Naruto gulped, though not noticeably. "Sh.. We're friends. Um.. Since.. our last year of middle school.. I think."

"How close are you two?"

"Uh.. about as close as anyone else in our group is.. with each other."

Their Q and A session went back and forth for some time until Hiashi came to the conclusion that unless he got straight to the point, he would be getting nowhere with this investigation.

"I'll be blunt, Naruto, the reason I asked you here is to solve the why Hinata has been acting differently lately."

"Different how?" Naruto couldn't stop himself from asking.

"She's more opinionated, let's herself be known, confident in her speech, and is more aggressive in conversations, I can't help but think that you would have something to do in her behavior change."

"She is?" Naruto smiled slightly. "That's great."

"What do mean, that's great?"

"Well, you wouldn't know, but Hinata has always wanted to be that way."

Something in his tone struck a nerve with the older man.

"What are you implying?" he asked the blonde.

"Um.. Nothing.. Sir."

"Is that so? Because it sounded as though you were implying that I don't know my daughter very well."

"I wasn't implying anything," he said quickly. "It just.. Hinata.. doesn't really.. uh.. I'm boned."

Figuring that he was in trouble either way, Naruto cleared his throat and said, "You have no idea who you're daughter is, so I'm actually surprised that you noticed a change in her."

"And you know everything there is about her, correct?"

"Actually, I do. I really do."

"What's there to know about her. She's been nothing but a person to take up space since she was a child."

Naruto shot up from his seat. "Hinata is the most awesome, honest, adorable, little weird girl ever, and if you can't appreciate that, then maybe you don't deserve her father. After all, you've done nothing but make her feel like crap since her sister died."

"What could you possibly know about about that situation?"

"Because she told me everything. And I mean, everything, and I gotta say, it's mostly your fault that she turned out that way."

It was Hiashi's turn to stand from his desk and glare heartily at the blonde. "Do you have any idea what you're saying to me?"

"Yeah, and I'm know that there's no way in hell that I'm going to be keeping my job, but it's all worth it if I'm able that just because you lost one daughter, doesn't mean you can forget about the other. Especially when she has that much potential in her. But you're just too fucking blind to see that."

"You have no idea what I went through during that time," the older man tried to defend himself.

Naruto didn't suppress a smile that worked it's way onto his face. "You act like you're the only one that's lost someone. Fucking.. grow up."

Naruto made for the door while he still had the last word. Pretty certain that he was now out of work, he planned to grab his things, say a quick farewell to Sai, and then head for some ramen before going back home to no one but a cat. Which he loved, but still.

"And I suppose you apprecaite her for who she is," Hiashi called out to his retreating figure.

Naruto opened the door and said, "More than anyone ever will, that's for sure, especially you."

He was gone before Hiashi was able to think of a comeback.

A loud knock outside of his opened study door, cause Hiashi to break away from his thoughts. He looked up from the book he was attempting to read from and saw Hinata stand outside of the door frame, back straight, and her head high. Yes, she had changed, and he never saw it coming.

"You called for me, father?" she said.

"Yes," he said and put the novel aside. "Hinata come here."

Hinata stepped idly into the room she had rarely ever been invited into and stood in front of him. Hiashi motioned for her to sit down, his movements saying that she would be there for some time.

"I have realized," he started. "That you have changed. But at the same time, thinking that you haven't changed at all, but just allowed your real personality to show."

"I'm sorry," she said. "What?"

"Hinata, as a father, how have I been?"

Hinata said nothing at first. "Most.. satisfactory. I have no complaints.."

A sudden awkward silence settled between them for the short while before Hiashi spoke up.

"Honestly, tell me you're thoughts on our relationship. I want nothing but the boldest of truths to come from that mouth of yours."

Hinata studied him slightly, making sure that this wasn't a trap before settling her eyes downwards into her lap.

"Then, father, if I may be so bold as to say," she said. "Our relationship is very fucked up."

Hiashi's eyes widened a tad in shock from hearing her statement. And even though it usually was cause for a reprimading, he couldn't help but nod and agree before they began a conversation.

xxx

While Ino's family did own a delivery van for their business, it was a bit smaller than they had anticipated. It also didn't help that the only seat belts were located in the two front seats and had many plants stored in the back. For the third time since they picked him up, Kiba fell over and slammed his head against the back of the driver's seat when Tenten braked.

"Sorry," she called from over her shoulder.

"Dammit," Kiba growled and massaged the spot of skull that hurt slightly. "I thought you knew how to fucking drive."

Tenten twisted herself to look back at him. "Did I say anything when you failed your test twice?" she snapped. "After doing that, I wouldn't be talking."

Kiba shifted back to his spot, grumbling under his breath undecipherable words.

"Yeah, watch your mouth, Mr. Man," said Tenten. "Otherwise next time it won't be an accident."

Naruto leaned forward and tapped her shoulder. "Don't forget, I'm back here too," he said.

Tenten's expression softened. "Sorry," she apologized. "I get a little aggressive while driving."

"No kidding," mumbled Kiba.

"What was that?!" Tenten yelled.

"Nothing!" he exclaimed back. "Let's just get Shikamaru and get this over with. The faster we get there, the faster we can get out."

Naruto took a look around the inside of the vehicle. "Hey, Ino," he called out and pushed aside a basket of plants hanging over him.

The blonde girl twisted in her seat to face him. "What is it?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "You know what your van reminds me of?" he asked her carefully.

Kiba moved his hand to hide the smirk that was threatening to show while Ino's facial appearance made her annoyance present.

"Don't even hint it," she warned. "You know how much I hate that movie."

"But-" the blonde boy started to defend, but was cut off promptly.

"No," Ino stated sternly. "I don't want to hear any jokes, okay?"

Naruto nodded and Ino sat normally in the passenger seat. Kiba raised an eyebrow in his direction and Naruto let a small playfull smile dance on his lips. He made the universal "shh" signal towards the brunnette sitting across from him and sat on his knees, facing the back of Ino's seat.

"Whatever you say," Naruto started. "TJ Hooker."

Kiba howled with laughter and Ino took an estimated swing at the boy behind her which caused Tenten to swerve a little.

"Hey!" she shouted at her companions. "I'm trying to drive here! Ino, what the hell?"

"They're making Roxbury jokes," Ino told her.

Tenten looked back at the boys who were trying to stifle their laughter through the rear view mirror. "Are you guys really, even though you know she hates it?"

"Nooooo," they drawled out in sync, then began to nod vigorously. "Yeeeeess."

"If you don't stop," said Tenten. "I'm going to crash both your heads through both of these windows."

"You wouldn't do that to Ino," Naruto said.

Tenten glanced over at Ino questioningly.

"I don't mind," Ino confessed. "My folks don't know we took it anyway, how're they gonna know it was you?"

"Fine, fine," Naruto said. "I'll stop. I don't get it though, what's to hate about the movie?"

"I don't want to get into it," Ino replied simply. "It just bothers me, 'kay?"

"Whatever," he muttered and sat normally as Tenten pulled the auto up to the curb in front of Shikamaru's home and turned the key.

"Someone call his phone," Tenten said. "Let him know we're here."

"I don't think we're gong to need to," said Ino and pointed through the window.

Shikamaru walked nonchalantly through his front door and and walked normally through the small front yard. Naruto moved over to sit next to Kiba the moment Shikamaru stood outside of the sliding door and pulled it open.

"What the hell, man?" Kiba asked while the other boy slamed the portal shut. "I had to climb out of my window and you get to use the front door?"

"You climbed out your window?" Shikamaru questioned him.

"My mom locks the door by ten on weekdays," he answered softly.

"Yeah, I had to sneak out too," Ino voiced. "Went through the back gate."

"Same here," Tenten said. "I had to climb down the awning outside of the bathroom window."

"What makes you so special?" Kiba asked him again. "Wasn't there anyone watching the front door?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru told him. "My dad was."

"And?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I saw you guys pull up from the window, went to the door, put on my shoes, he asked me where I was going, told him that I was going out to steal equipment so that a friend could use it to get back the love of his life while at the same time making a complete ass of himself in front of the entire student body, told me that if I was going to come in later than four that it would better if I could find somewhere else to sleep so that my mom wouldn't find out, and now I'm here with you guys."

"Is it okay for him to do that?" Naruto asked him.

Shikamaru shrugged. "If it isn't, it's not my problem."

Tenten started the ignition up again. "Alright, where am I going?" she asked.

"Alright," Kiba began, "we need to get to the store first, it's the easiest."

"If it's the easiest, shouldn't we save that for last?" Naruto questioned.

Tenten turned the key in the ignition again. The vehicle stopped it's functioning. There was no point in having the engine running if they weren't even sure where they would be going first.

"No," Kiba corrected. "Because SUBurBIA is on a block surrounded by other stores, and it'll look even weirder to see a flower shop van in the back later on. At least if we went there now it might seem a bit more normal."

"There's nothing normal about a flower shop van to be behind a store like SUBurBIA," Naruto countered. "At any time."

"In any case, Kiba," Shikamaru said. "Did you find out the security's schedule for tonage's warehouse?"

"Yeah," Kiba answered and pulled out a folded piece of torn notebook paper from his back pocket. He smoothed it out and set it down on the van floor. Both Tenten and Ino turned as well as they could to get a better view of the sheet.

"I even got this map kind of thing," he told them and gestured at the drawing. "So, there's a security switch at exactly midnight, but the new guard doesn't get to his post until a quarter after. From what I've heard, the last guard and the new guard meet up at this coffee shop before the second's shift. That's why it takes so long for him to get to his place."

Kiba pointed at one point of the drawing. "From what I could tell, the shop is more than just some blocks away, and all the gear we're gonna need is on this side of the warehouse."

"Where's the guard going to be when he gets back from coffee with the other one?" Ino asked.

"Right next to the door we need to get through," he answered.

Shikamaru groaned. "That's great. It really is. Okay, where's the main office for the security, where all the surveillance is held."

"Right there," Kiba pointed at a new spot. "No one's ever there though because all of them wander around."

"How many are there?" Naruto asked.

"At least four."

"Shit," the blonde boy cursed.

"Relax," Shikamaru told him. "We can pull this off.. Okay, let's get to the warehouse first and we'll go to SUBurBIA second. There's the off chance that since the coffee shop is so far away, he might leave early. And if even if he doesn't, being there earlier means that we can get in faster. But, one of us is going to have to get to the surveillance room and cause the tapes to go into a loop so that we can't be spotted."

"Who's going to do that?" Tenten asked him.

"The question is," he responded. "Who can do that?"

None of them made a sound.

"I take it none of us can," said Naruto

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll do it."

"Can you do it?" Ino questioned him.

"I've never done anything like that before," he admitted. "But out of everyone here, I'd be able to figure it out the fastest."

"What about the other three security guards?" asked Tenten.

"We'll just have to avoid them," Shikamaru said.

"That'll be easier said than done," Naruto thought aloud.

"Nah, we can do it," Ino attempted to sound encouraging but was a bit dubious herself.

"Well!" Tenten exclaimed enthusiastically and clapped her hands together. "I'm pumped, let's get going." She switched the engine back on and pulled away from the curb. "Warehouse then?"

"Yeah," Kiba answered her and folded the sheet of paper again. "You know where it is right?"

"Uh.. I know the coffee shop you're talking about. I'm gonna need some help once we get there though."

"That's fine I can tell you where to go from there," he told her.

"Ah my god, you guys," Naruto said. "We're actually doing this. All that's missing is some stupid prat with a video camera to record evidence."

"Who would do that?" Shikamaru asked incredulously.

"You'd be surprised," the blonde boy told him while Kiba secretly thought to himself that it was a good thing he left his camera behind. "What's even more surprising though, is that at the time, nobody thinks that anything bad would come out of it."

"Whatever," Shikamaru muttered. "Tenten, don't take too many main streets, we need to stay on the down low."

xx

The location of the warehouse they needed to infiltrate was apart from the rest of the downtown district along with many other chain store warehouses. Shikamaru instructed Tenten to turn of both head and tail lights off as to not call attention themselves.

"Twenty minutes before midnight," Kiba said while consulting his watch. "Go 'round to the back loading dock, that's where we need to be."

"Where's it at?" Tenten asked.

"Turn at that corner over there," he said and pointed through the windshiled. "The last time I was here there were doing stuff with these huge ass crates. They should still be there, it wasn't that long ago. We can hide the van behind them."

"They're that big?" Naruto asked him.

"For the most part," Kiba told him with a slight shurg.

Tenten turned at the location Kiba had pointed out to her, and sure enough, there were many very large crates piled ontop of one another. While they didn't conceal the vehicle entirely, it was better than having it exposed in the open. At least this way, a double-take would have to be made in order for it to be spotted, and considering how well it was hidden, it was very unlikely that something of the sort would be done. Tenten slowed down to subtle halt, making sure that they wouldn't be noticed at all. After doing so, they exited quickly and quietly, keeping close to the van as to not be spotted.

"Ino," Shikamaru called out softly to her, "can you take a look and see if there's anyone there?"

Ino nodded in the affirmative and creeped towards the last of the stacked pile of crates. She peaked over the side and saw a security guard dressed in dark slacks and a grey collar shirt, his trusty flashlight in it's holster that connected to the belt. Ino went back to the others as soon as the man standing guard went inside the building.

"There's a guard there," she informed them. "He went back inside though."

"He might be getting ready to leave," Shikamaru said. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Tenten, as soon as the guy's gone for good, back the van up to the loading dock. Kiba and Naruto, you two will be grabbing the stuff while I get to the surveillance. Ino, you'll do look out for the other three that should be around here as well as the other guy that should be starting. You also might have to help with the loading."

They agreed to the arrangement quickly and kept watch for the departure of the guard. Not five minutes later, the man walked back out of the building in civilian clothing, going off into the opposite direction of them. It was clear that he would not be coming back.

"Tenten, wait awhile," Shikamaru told her. "You two, let's go. Ino, start look out."

The three boys rushed towards the structure, going so fast their feet barely made a noise when coming into contact with the concrete flooring. At the double-door entrance, Kiba pulled out his employee card from his wallet and lis it through the security system, allowing them access. After propping the doors open, Kiba and Naruto went straight for the equipment while Kiba told Shikamaru where the surveillance room was.

"We need on of those.. pushy thingies," Naruto said.

"There's one over there," Kiba pointed to the opposing wall. "How many speakers do you think we need to take?"

"Since most of the sound is going to be going through the PA system, let's take four," Naruto answered.

"Yeah, 'cause that's not a lot."

"Shut up and grab one of those pushy thingies."

Kiba did so with little complaint and pushed his own over to where Naruto stood in front of many stereo speakers. "How big?"

"How big what?" Naruto asked him.

"The speakers, stupid."

"Oh.. Big."

"Like that big?"

"No, that's way too big. It's not gonna fit in the the van."

"What about this?"

"Uh.. A little bigger."

"Like this?"

"That's awesome, does it come in any other colors?"

"Naruto!"

"Sorry, yeah, that's great."

"Load one up then," Kiba told him. "Get this done before we end up getting caught."

"You're gonna jinx us," Naruto slightly growled. "Stop saying shit like that."

Kiba paid him no mind while navigating himself out of the storage room and back out through the pair of doors leading to their van. Naruto followed him shortly there after. They had to wait a few minutes while Tenten backed up onto the loading ramp to make their job easier.

"Be careful with the plants, will you?" Ino asked them politely.

The two boys reassured her that they would be and scampered back into the building to retrieve the other set of speakers, a larger amplifier, and a microphone. While they were going back and forth for all of these, Ino and Tenten rearranged the equipment inside to provide not only safety for the flowers that they should have left behind in the first place, but to also make sure there was enough room in the back for the other three to sit.

When the last of it was taken out and put away safely, they had thought that they were in the clear, until Shikamaru came running out of the warehouse.

"Start it up!" he called out to them.

Tenten rushed to the drivers seat and turned the key. The engine started up promplty while everyone else scurried inside of the vehicle.

"Just go already," Shikamaru told her while he was being helped in.

Tenten pulled out of the loading ramp and sped out of the property before the sliding door was even closed. With the speed she was going, it took all three boys to close the door.

"What happened?!" Ino asked. "Were you able to do the loop?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru told her after catching his breath. "I figured it out no problem, but before I left the room, I saw on another camera that's just outside of the property line."

"On the other side?" asked Kiba.

Shikamaru nodded. "It was that same security person that left earlier."

"He came back?"

"Yeah, but he didn't come back alone. Not only was the new guard, but a squad car was there."

"They brought the cops!" Naruto shouted.

"That's what it looked like," Shikamaru went on. "I don't really know if he knew we were there or was only suspicious of someone else being there because he might have heard the van or something, but when I saw that I knew we had to get out of there. Didja get everything?"

"From here, yeah," Kiba told him. "We still need to get to my store though and pick up the connection we're gonna need and other stuff."

"Alright," Tenten said from behind the wheel. "Next stop, SUBurBIA."

xx

"Pull into the alley."

Tenten automatically obeyed Kiba's instructions and pulled into the alley in between the shop and the one next to it. She put the vehicle into "park" and turned it off for safe measure.

"Are all of us going in, or are you just going to run in and grab whatever?" Tenten asked Kiba.

"You guys can get off if you want," he told them while opening the door and climbing out. "But this one isn't really that big of a deal."

"I"ll come with," Naruto said and clambered out.

"You should go too," Ino said to Shikamaru.

"What for?" he asked her.

"Um, because you have dumb and dumber going in alone."

Shikamaru sighed slightly. "You're right," he said. "Alright I'll go with them."

Shikamaru left the van without closing the door behind him. He sauntered over to where the other two were standing outside of the backdoor. Kiba rifled through his set of keys until he found the one to the store and immediately placed it into the lock, turning it, and granting them access inside.

"No hight tech security alarm?" Naruto questioned him.

"Nope," he replied. "Just a twist of the key and everything goes off."

Once inside, Kiba flipped on half of the lights on and instructed Naruto to grab the cables he had set aside earlier that day behind the counter so that it would be an easy in-out mission. While he went to fetch the cords, Kiba went into the back room to grab the other piece of machinery they would be needing along with a copy of the album Naruto would be taking the song from. Shikamaru watched them from the doorway, not really being able to do anything. That was until Kiba came out from the backroom - items in hand - and took one look over the backdoor frame, swearing promptly afterwards.

"I forgot there was a camera in here too," he said. "It's new."

"Couldn't Shikamaru just do that loop thing?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru looked up at the surviellance. "There's only one, right?"

"Yeah," Kiba answered.

"No problem," the boy said nonchalantly and reached up to turn the power button off. "Where's the monitor?"

Kiba pointed towards behind the cash register. Shikamaru walked over behind the store counter and found the blank monitor screen and the recording device underneath it. He popped the tape out and waved it slightly in the air while putting another one in. Once in, he went back over to his cohorts in crime and motioned for them to leave. Once the lights were off, Shikamaru turned the camera back on and closed the door, leaving Kiba to then lock the store up once more.

"Friends," Naruto said cheerfully once they were inside of the vehicle and Tenten pulled out from the alley way and back onto the streets. "We just pulled off one of the most kopacetic plans ever. I say we celebrate."

"Shouldn't we celebrate after you go through with it and it works?" Ino asked.

Naruto slumped a little. "I was just gonna suggest turning the radio on or something."

"I think we can do that," Tenten said and pressed the power button of the stereo.

The vehicle was instantly filled with a 90's club mix beat followed by the words, "_What is love?_". Naruto and Kiba both started laughing like mad while bobbing their heads to the side. Ino on the other hand, found no pleasure in the irony of the situation and silenced the music with a slam of her palm.

"I hate that movie!" she cried.

"For an irrational reason," Shikamaru said. Ino turned to glare at him but really had no effect on him.

"Let's just get to the school and set up already," he sighed. "I wanna get some sleep."

Suddenly, Tenten slammed on the brakes. Kiba slammed into Naruto and the two of the crashed against the equipment. The force of the abrupt stop even caused some of the plants to fall from their hangings and crash to the van floor. Shikamaru attempted to catch them, but was hit more than once with vegetation.

"Tenten!" Ino shouted. "What the hell?!"

Tenten put the van into "park" and turned herself so that all of them could see her.

"Exactly how," she began, "are we going to get all this into the school?"

For the second time that night, all of them were completely silent.

Naruto groaned slightly. "Ah, fuck."

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just drive, Tenten. We'll figure that out when we get there."

Tenten nodded slightly and started driving again.

tbc. . .

A/N: I had like this huge anxiety attack because I couldn't decide to have Hiashi say "Come in." or "Enter." I was all, "I've nver heard anyone say Enter before and in ROTC they said Come in, but Hiashi isn't a military man.." I'm a dork. XD But anyway, other than that small part, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. In case anyone is wondering about the movie refernece, it's "Night at the Roxbury", to me, it's one of those movies that is so stupid it's funny. Like Napoleon Dynamite. I like 'em, but hey, that's just me... I like Talledega Nights too... Actually, I just like Will Ferrell... But I like Ewan McGregor more, but that could be counted as a celebrity crush. Same with Billy Boyd and Gerard Butler and Tim Armstrong... Anyway, before I go into a nonstop ramble:

Allan pike: I love Artemis Fowl! I have all of the books too. I didn't really like the last one though. The fact that a love interest was brought in to keep things going kind of bothered me.

Chronostorm: I don't think it was shock because if it was, that smile wouldn't have been there. He would have just collapsed. I think it's more of the whole sense that if he was to complete it, he would have nothing to live for anymore. It's like what Kakashi said, it's just an empty path. Maybe he finally realized it. Or maybe he just couldn't kill the last relation to him. Or amybe he figured that he didn't need to kill him beucase to him having him collapse first made him the winner. I don't know, it's kind of open ended where it left off.. But after this is posted, I'm heading over to site to see what's up.

Hali-chan: None taken, I'm sure there were plenty. I'm not really sure how I am on medication since I usually refuse it whenever offered. But anyway, it's not really karaokee, but I guess it's kind of like that. But if you haven't figured it out yet, it's in the next chapter so all will be revealed soon.

Madge: I'm still a little "Famous Last Words" but we were talking and thought of getting a foreclosed house. Maybe in the LA district in case I go to the Academy, or San Diego.. just because. And if you want to tag along that'd be great, I mean, you're practically emancipated anyway.

Misa-chan: LalaithWeasley, of course! I use the name for everything. :) If you do, tell me your name and I'll be your fan.

xxxturkey: I'm using your line in the next chapter. It just so cute. When I reread it, I did the same thing again.

So anyway, I discovered the joy of on-line karokee. You guys should try it. thesimsonstage(dot)com, so awesome, even though there was a limit to the songs I knew but still. I had a blast singing "Date Rape". It's one of my favorites, 'cause y'know, the moral of the date rape story it does not pay to be drunk and horny, but that's the way it had to be, they locked him up and threw away the key, well I can't take pity on men of his kind, even though he now takes it in the behind. -laugh- Well then, later party people see ya next week where we will see Naruto's plan go into action!! Should be fun if not embarassing. XD Oh, and I'm finally putting my own poll up on the profile for which fanfic I should start up after this one ends. I can't decide on my own, so I put it up to see what people want to see put out. They'll all be put out eventually, I just don't know which one to do first.

beta's note: can't really say much cause i'm typing with one hand. never underestimate the strength of someone under five feet. in fact do the oposite. you would think that i would know that of all people but i guess not. review! ... and really am i really that bad of a fanfic author that not one person voted for me when the last poll was up? that's mean guuys...


	32. III, viii

xxx  
Scene VIII: "Then if he thrive and I cast away, the worst was this; My love was my decay."  
xxx

"When do you think we should go back?"

Chouji looked over at the girl sitting next to him.

"To school you mean?" he asked.

"Well," Sakura began. "Yeah. We haven't been to all week. I don't think Monday counts since we left before the first hour started."

Chouji nodded slowly. "I know.. I just.. I don't know what we should do."

He looked around at their surroundings. It was very stuffy and quite dim. The windows were still boarded up, and they had been instructed to keep them that way lest someone discover that this place wasn't as nearly as deserted as it had been led to believe.

"We should probably get out of here for awhile," he said and stood from his seat on the floor. "Maybe even go home for a bit."

"Can you go home?" Sakura asked him. "I mean, I know I can, but I don't know about you."

"What time is it?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "I'd guess around nine, ten, I know it's not noon yet."

Chouji closed his eyes in thought. "I should be able to go home for awhile," he said after some time. "Shower, change, but then I'd have to get out of there."

"Come over to my place afterwards," she told him. "My mom won't even notice you there."

"Yeah, okay."

"But anyway," Sakura said. "What about school?"

"I don't know," he answered. "We haven't gone in all week, I really don't think there's any point in going tomorrow."

"Should we go in next week?" she asked.

"What do you think?" he returned.

Sakura shrugged. "I think as long as I'm like this, I'm good to go for anything.. What about Ino and Shikamaru though?"

"What about 'em?"

"What should we do, 'cause you know they're gonna come after us."

"I don't know," he said with a slight shrug. "If we don't go though next week though, there's no doubt that our parents would end up getting involved."

"You're right about that," she agreed. "So do we go back?"

"No choice really. We'll just have to get around those two as best as we can."

Sakura nodded slightly. "Guess so.. So, now what?"

Chouji stood up. "Home I guess. Not much else to do."

Sakura stood up as well and dusted herself off as best as she could. "Meet at my place when you're done?"

"Yeah," the boy said. "Then we should head out somewhere before school let's out. Keep ourselves hiden."

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"No really," Chouji confessed. "You?"

"Well, we're going to need some more cash for everything we've been taking here, I could find find some guys on-line willing to go out before tomorrow."

"And if you can't find any?"

Sakura shrugged slightly. "Then I'll have to find some for Friday. We need to pay Kankuro no matter how you look at it and our money supply is low."

"That's mostly on me. You shouldn't have to pay for my share."

"But you help me out," she told him. "I mean, you go with me on these things so it's like you're my own personal bodyguard. Think of me paying for all of this as your pay check. Or something like that."

"Alright, I guess that's pretty good. What if you don't make enough today though?"

"Then I'll line stuff up for tomorrow. As long as you're there with me, I'm fine with doing it. It'd be different if I was out there alone. I wouldn't feel safe."

"I'll be there with you," he said. "Don't worry about that."

"I won't. Let's get out of here then."

Chouji was the first one to make it to the door. He had to force it open somewhat, they both squinted at the sunlight that hit their eyes. They were so used to the dark that it took them both awhile before their vision adjusted itself. Sakura walked out first, leaving Chouji to lock up the run down structure behind them. After he was sure that Kankuro would be okay with the way they left the place, they both the familiar way to their respected homes together.

xxx

Hinata fiddled with the ring that hung around her neck, her mind completely lost in thought. So much had happened so quickly, she didn't really know what to make of any of it. To be honest with herself she wasn't sure about anything anymore. But the one thing that she had to contemplate the most upon was the end of her conversation with her father just the day before.

When questioned on his reason behind holding a conversation with her, Hiashi had answered that it was because of Naruto and repeated every word that the blonde had said to him the previous day. Hinata was more than just a little surprised.

'Naruto,' she thought. 'Why did you say all of those things to my father? Could it really be true, that you do love me? I know there's no way that you would ever lie to my father like that. I honestly don't think youw ould lie to him at all... I'm beginning to think that everything you were trying to tell me that day was the truth.. But I don't think I really know what to believe. I want to think everything through logically, but my heart is getting in the way of my mind. Let's face it, I've never stopped loving you once this entire time. And I really don't think I ever could.'

For being an intricate web of complications, Love has been recognized as having consist of my factors that are not to be confused with the different forms it comes in. In any case, Hinata was aware of this but really only understood some of them well enough. In a romantic relationship she was well aware that Love was both trust and faith which meant a hopefull future. She also knew that both compassion and understanding was needed.

But even more important, Love consists of being able to forgive and put aside the wrong doings of the past and work together in order to shed new light onto the situation and move beyond that. And that was something Hinata was beginning to comprehend.

xxx

"Will you please tell me what's going on?"

Ino turned to face a demanding looking Neji.

"What?" she asked.

"I've been trying to talk to you for a very long time now," he said. "And I still haven't gotten a word out of you. I want to know what you meant by everything you said that one day when we were holding the study session."

Ino furrowed her brow in thought. Then it dawned on her. "Oh! Was I talking to myself again?"

"Somewhat," he replied. "It started off with you talking to me, but then you kind of just went off. Ino, Sasuke wants to be with Hinata, obviously. But if he's done something wrong, then I need to know about it."

Ino nodded and went into the story. Explaining everything that she had seen, heard, and figured out with everyone else. Needless to say, Neji was a little more than just pissed at the end. Which actually pleased Ino, she wanted as many on Naruto's side as possible, and Neji, well, Neji was the ultimate ally.

'Probably would have been better to have him sooner though,' she thought.

"But we can't really tell Hinata anything," she told him before he was able to speak up. "Naruto already tried telling her the same story and it didn't really go well. So now, we're tyring to get her forgive him before she finds anything so that she'll actually believe it."

"And how are you going to pull that off?" he asked her.

"Naruto has something planned for today. If you want, you can join our anti-Sasuke force and help us out. We mostly have everything covered, but y'never know when you'll need an extra hand."

Neji thought the proposition over. "I'm in."

xxx

The lunch hour was almost at it's end and Naruto had yet to show up. This very fact was causing a small commotion with the group involved in his scheme.

"Where the hell is he?!" cried Ino.

"Relax," Shikamaru told her.

"What if he chickened out?" Kiba thought aloud.

"There's no way he would do that," Tenten argued. "And even if he was scared, he'd still come and do it because of what we did last night."

"What did all of you do last night?" asked Neji.

"Stole everything that's up here for this to happen," Shikamaru said bluntly.

"We're just borrowing," said Kiba. "We're taking it back."

"Eventually."

"No, we're putting everything back tonight."

"Do we have to?" Tenten groaned. "Can't we save it for another day?"

"Besides," Ino put in. "If we do it tonight, then we'll get caught for sure. What idiot goes back to the scene of the crime the night after?"

"Apparently an idiot like Kiba," Neji commented.

"Shut up, just.. shut up," Kiba half growled while going over to the equipment they had hid on the rooftop only last night.

"What're you doing?" Ino asked.

Kiba glanced over back at her for a moment before focusing on the smallest of the electronics and the album he had taken.

"I'm just getting this thing ready," he said. "I should have done it earlier. I don't really know when he wants to do it."

"I thought he would have done it during lunch," said Tenten. "He's not going to during a class, is he?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Shikamaru added.

"What is that Kiba?" Neji questioned and walked over to him.

"This," Kiba began to explain and gestured at the machine in front of him, "is how we edit songs at my store. You ever wonder how they get songs without the lyrics being sung at the karaokee bars?"

"I always thought they redid the songs themselves on kewyboards," Ino said.

"Well, most of them do," Kiba told her. "But professionally, you use this thing, put the disc in, and then with all these little knobs and stuff, you can get rid of whatever you want (1). I'm taking everything out except for the drums and lowering the bass volume down."

"Maybe I should start connecting everything," Shikamaru said off handedly. He walked over to where Kiba was and opened the cable box that was above in one of the many generators ontop of the building.

"I'll get the walkie talkies ready," Ino announced and dug around in her school bag.

"What are those for?" Tenten asked her.

"Just in case," the blonde girl replied with an off shrug. "I was thinking, y'know, what if some of the teachers try to interfere? We could split up and try to delay them or something and with these, we can keep in contact."

"That's pretty smart," Tenten said.

"I thought so."

While Ino placed the batteries into the devices she saw fit to add in, Shikamaru and Kiba went ahead and took their time with the tasks they took up for themselves. Before either one was completed with their assignment, the bell rang, signaling that the lunch hour was now over and classes were meant to commence once more.

"What do we do?" Tenten asked everyone unsurely.

"I don't know," Ino answered first. "Should we just wait?"

"We can't go back down," Shikamaru told her. "We told him that we would wait up here for him."

"Maybe he's just having some trouble getting up here," Kiba suggested. "Like, without being noticed."

"Should one of us go down there and see?" Ino questioned.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, 'cause then one of us might get caught. Let's just wait up here. If we stay put, nothing'll go wrong. Kiba, get back to fixing that up, and I'll finish up with these wires."

"You almost done with that?" Kiba asked him.

"Yeah, I just have to override the manual setting that connects to the main office and swtich it so that we'll be able to control it from this end. The entire PA system will be at our control."

"That is so awesome," Kiba said. "I wish I would've thought of something like this years ago. What would I do with control of the main source of communication for this school?"

"Something stupid, no doubt," Ino joked.

Before Kiba was able to retaliate verbally, Neji spoke up.

"As much as poking fun at Kiba's intelligence is, would someone please fully explain to me what Naruto is planning on doing?"

"Why didn't you ask before?" Shikamaru asked him.

"I figured someone would have filled me in when I agreed to help out," Neji replied.

"Everyone, for the record," Shikamaru directed at all of them. "If you don't ask questions, you're never going to find out what the hell is going on. That's how you learn stuff people, by asking."

"Okay," Ino said. "That was kinda weird. Anyway, Neji, Hinata tells you stuff right?"

"For the most part," he answered.

"Has she ever mentioned anything of a lifelong girlish romantic fantasy?" Tenten asked him.

"Not that I recall," he said to her.

"I'm not really surprised," said Tenten. "It's really something that girls share with other girls. Which makes me wonder how Naruto found out."

"She must have said something about it to him," Ino put in. "Hinting or just by accident, but it's a pretty good thing that he knew about it. This will definitely help him out."

"No doubt about that," Tenten said. "Anyway, the point is that Hinata has had this girlish romantic fantasy that one day the boy she was absolutley in love with would proclaim his love for her by playing her most favorite romantic song of all time, very loudly, off a rooftop."

"At the time," Ino cut in, "when she said it, she said that holding a radio over his head would do. Y'know, like in that movie."

"Night at the Roxbury?" Kiba chuckled from his position.

"No!" Ino yelled. "Not Night at the Roxbury! That other movie!"

"They did it in Roxbury too," Kiba muttered.

"But," Tenten went on whiling holding a murderous looking Ino back, "Naruto is taking that one step further and actually going to sing the song, and play it on his guitar, up here, and possibly risking expulsion."

"We're not too sure what the consequences of this are," Shikamaru mentioned.

"Knowing that now," Neji said. "I'm questioning why I agreed to help out."

"Well you're a last minute accomplice," Tenten told him. "I'm sure that you won't get into too much trouble. We've been in this from the very beginning."

"We might also be facing jail time," Kiba reminded them. "If they find out we stole all this-"

"Enough of those depressing thoughts," Tenten interrupted. "Let's just focus on the positive outcome. Hinata and Naruto will live happily ever after, and Sasuke the Bastard learns that Karma is a bitch."

"You said that too cheerfully," Shikamaru said.

"So if I'm getting this right," said Neji. "Naruto-"

"What about Naruto?"

The small gathering of friends turned their heads simultaneously towards the direction of where the new voice sounded from. Standing there with the door leading to the rooftop thrown open was none other than the blonde hero himself.

"What took you so long?" Ino demanded.

Naruto chuckled a bit nervously. "Sorry I'm late. Sneaking in was a little harder than I thought it would be. And then I almost got caught and then was spotted and made some stupid lie about why I had the guitar stapped to my back, I don't even remember what I said. Anyway, I'm here now, that's all that really matters."

"But you're good to go, right?" Ino asked. "You can play it no problem?"

"Is Sapphire the true heir to the Ivory throne?" Naruto answered with another question.

They said nothing.

"The answer is yes," he said somewhat defeatedly. "Anyway, what were you saying about me Neji?"

"I was just about to say something along the lines of, Naruto is going to make a complete ass of himself for the sake of my cousin's forgiveness and love once more by singing from the school's roof even though it could just backfire," Neji replied.

Naruto flashed him a smile. "Damn straight. Were you guys setting up?"

"I'm done with connecting everything over here," Shikamaru called out and stepped away from the cable box.

"This too," Kiba said and gestured at his work space.

"All that's really left is getting the speakers into position, setting the mic and of course getting Hinata into position down below," Shikamaru told him while walking over.

"Neji can do that," Naruto said then turned to look at the boy. "I take you already know about Sasuke and everything and offered a hand to help out. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Am I right?"

Neji nodded slightly. "That's pretty much the whole story."

"Nice," Naruto said and turned to the rest of them, clapping his hands together. "Let's set up and move into action. I want to start it up as soon as the bell rings for seventh. We have control of the bells up here right? I don't want the song to be interrupted by the late bell."

"Yeah," Shikamaru answered him. "But why during the passing period?"

"'Cause then everyone'll be moving around, it'll make it a little harder for the sensei's and others to sort out what's going on. Sound good?"

They all made their agreements to the proposal in their own way.

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed. "Let's do this thing!"

xxx

It was only a few minutes until the bell that would ring to dismiss the students from their sixth hour of the day when Neji walked into Hinata's Physics class. He walked over to Anko's desk and said something to her that she wasn't able to hear from her seat. Hinata saw Anko give her consent with a slight nod of her head and Neji motion for her to follow him out the door. Hinata packed up her things rather quickly and walked down the desk aisles, following her cousin out of the room. Neji closed the door behind him.

"Hinata," he said. "I need you to follow me."

"Did something happen?" she asked. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really," he answered. "But it's okay, you'll understand in a few minutes."

"What? Neji, what's going on?"

Before Neji could give her an answer the bell rang. Slowly, sutdents came ouring form the classrooms. Neji swore under his breath.

"I took too long," he said and grabbed Hinata's hand. "Hurry and follow me."

"Neji?"

"I need to get you outside, it's really important Hinata, that you see this."

"What-"

Hinata couldn't answer her question though. The moment that the ringing of the bell had ended, another sound came on. The distinct noise that all of the PA speakers made when an announcement from the main office was about to being. But instead of the hallways being filled with the sound of Tsunade's voice or any staff member, the sound of a slow melody being played on a guitar resonated through the corridoors and rooms.

The strangeness of it caused all of the students to stop in the movements and question what was going on. Even Hinata paused, causing Neji to fall back slighly and lose grip of her hand.

'I know this song,' she thought. 'It's my song. But why-'

_"Hand in mine, into your icy blues.."_

Hinata's eyes widened, her body turned to nearest speaker located in the hallway.

"Naruto?" she whispered.

Neji grabbed at her hand and led her towards the door leading out into the Courtyard.

_"And then I'd say to you we could take to the highway  
__With this trunk of ammunition too  
__I'd end my days with you, in a hail of bullets"_

Through the last segment of lyircs, Neji had been able to guide his cousin through the confused crowd and out into the open. Once outside, Hinata noticed that the music was louder outside then it had been inside of the building. In an instant of hope, her eyes traveled upwards and her breath hitched.

Her mind was only capable of whispering Naruto's name once more.

_"I'm trying, I'm trying  
__To let you know how much you mean to me  
__And after all the things we put each other through"_

Noticing that both Neji and Hinata were outside, a lot more of the students exited the school and made there way to where they two of them stood. Findng the source of the sound, most of them pointed up and commented one thing or another to a nearby friend they were with.

And while the majority of the student body ran out into the open to join the others, most of the teachers had walked out of there room and were making their way to where Tsunade had left her office and was demanding to know what was going one with questions of there own.

_"And I would drive on to the end with you  
__A liquor store or two keeps the gas tank full  
__And I feel like there's nothing left to do  
__But prove myself to you and we'll keep it running"_

Shizune had been sent out to find what was going on. Upon seeing Naruto clearly above on the roof, she ran back into the building to inform the others. Neji, knowing exactly what she had gone to do, placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder causing her to look at him.

"Stay here," he told her and ran off back into the school. He pulled out the walkie talkie that Ino had instructed him to carry and turned it on. "Ino, can you hear me?"

"We all can," Tenten answered.

"What's going on?" Kiba asked. Both of their voices undertoned with static.

"The teachers know what's going on already," Neji informed them all.

"What are they doing?" Shikamaru's voice came over.

"I don't know," Neji said. "I think they're still going over it."

"Watch them," Ino's commanding voice said.

"I'll page back when they move out," Neji told them all and made his way to a place he could hear the adults banter without being noticed.

_"But this time, I mean it  
__I'll let you know just how much you mean to me  
__As snow falls on desert sky  
__Until the end of everything"_

Even though Hinata was surrounded by other people, she couldn't help but believe that Naruto was only seeing her. And she loved that.

_"I'm trying, I'm trying  
__To let you know how much you mean  
__As days fade, and nights grow  
__And we go cold"_

"It's Naruto," Shizune told them after catching her breath somwhat. "He's on the roof, playing, and singing."

"What the hell is he doing up there?" Tsunade demanded.

"Playing and singing," Kakashi answered cheerfully, earning a glare from his superior.

_"Until the end, until this pool of blood  
__Until this, I mean this, I mean this"_

"You five," Tsunade directed at the small group to her left. "Go up there and get the boy down from there."

All five of them; Iruka, Kakashi, Anko, Asuma, and Gai, nodded in the affirmative and started running off into the general direction upwards.

Neji brouth the small device back up to his mouth. "There's five heading up," he told them all.

"Who are they?" Ino asked.

Neji told them who they were up against quikly.

"I've got Asuma," Ino said.

"I'll take Iruka," said Tenten.

"I can handle Kakashi," Kiba told them.

"Neji, can you take out Anko or Gai?" Shikamaru asked.

"I can try," Neji replied.

"Follow them and do that. I'll start to barricade the door up here."

_"Until the end of...  
__I'm trying, I'm trying  
__To let you know how much you mean  
__As days fade, and nights grow  
__And we go cold.."_

In the student council room, all of the members had their heads hanging out the window to view the spectacle. Wanting to get to the bottom of this, Sasuke did the same thing. The moment he saw Naruto and Hinata down below, he knew that would cause nothing but trouble for him. He took off running as well, but in the opposite direction of Naruto. He wanted to get to Hinata first.

_"But this time, we'll show them  
__We'll show them all how much we mean  
__As snow falls on desert sky  
__Until the end of every..."_

Tenten was able to ambush Iruka first, since her position was on the ground floor. She flashed Neji the victory sign as he passed by before closing the door of the classroom she forced the unsuspecting teacher in.

Being positioned on the second floor, Ino awaited for the group of adults to pass by her and take out Asuma. Her focus was purely on that, until she saw Sasuke running from around the bend.

'He's trying to get to Hinata,' she thought immediately.

The moment he rounded her corner, Ino came at him with her arm extended out, giving him a perfect clothesline. Sasuke fell back, the wind knocked out of him. Ino hurriedly dragged the still down boy into a nearby janitorial closet.

"Like hell I'd let you get in the way," she said before locking him in.

_"All we are, all we are  
__Is bullets I mean this"_

The approaching sound of the teachers running had her move back to her orignal position and prepare herself. The moment she spotted Asuma, she threw herself at full force towards him and landed them both into the open classroom she stationed.

_"All we are, all we are  
__Is bullets I mean this"_

Kiba awaited anxiously on the third floor for his target to approach.

_"All we are, all we are  
__Is bullets I mean this"_

The sound of hurried footsteps warned him to be prepared. He peaked around the corner he hid behind and saw that Kakashi was in the lead.

'I'll just trip him,' he thought. 'That'll be a whole lot easier than trying to lock him in a classoom.'

The moment he was sure that the group running was only a few steps away, Kiba slid out and tripped the first person that he came into contact with. Only, it wasn't Kakashi, it was Gai.

_"All we are, all we are  
__Is bullets I mean this..."_

Kakashi and Anko hopped over the body of their fallen comrade and kept going. Kakashi waved back at Kiba, his eyes showing that he was indeed smiling.

"Better luck next time!" he called out.

"Man's a ninja," Kiba said to himself. "I swear."

"What happened?" Neji asked once he had caught up with Kiba.

"I got Gai, but not Kakashi."

"Is he out?" Neji asked.

"I think so," Kiba said and poked the man. "Yeah, he's out."

"Come on the, we can stop Kakashi and Anko."

_"As lead rains, pass on though our phantoms  
__Forever, forever"_

The two boys were able to catch up with that last of the teachers and even got to stop when pulling ahead of them and blocking their path.

_"Like scarecrows that fuel this flame we're burning  
__Forever, and ever  
__Know how much I want to show you you're the only one  
__Like a bed of roses there's a dozen reasons in this gun"_

"Get out of the way!' Anko commanded.

"We can't do that," Kiba said. "No one's allowed to interfere with this."

"Our school isn't against corporal punishment is it?" she quickly asked Kakashi.

"It's discouraged, but as far as I know, it's okay as long as it's not too serious," he answered. "You take care of them, I'll get to Naruto."

Instead of stopping him from running past, both Kiba and Neji stood, fearing for their lives as Anko appraoched the two of them.

"Still want to stop me?" she asked.

The two boys shook their heads. Anko smiled and ran on ahead to catch up with Kakashi.

"We suck," Kiba said.

Neji couldn't help but agree.

_"And as we're falling down, and in this pool of blood  
__And as we're touching hands, and as we're falling down"_

Kakashi made it to the roof door and found that it wouldn't budge.

"Well, isn't that odd."

"Move out of the way," Anko called out and ran for the door.

"That was quick," the man commented and moved as much to the side as possible.

Anko slammed her body against the door.

_"And in this pool of blood, and as we're falling down  
__I'll see your eyes, and in this pool of blood"_

Shikamaru jumped at the way the door was being slammed against. With that much force he knew that it was about to give at any moment. In a final act of desperation he even used his own weight to contribute to the mass of objects he had thrown up against it. Which really didn't do much as proven by the woman who crashed through. Anko quickly spotted Naruto.

_"I'll meet your eyes, I mean this forever!"_

And tackled him to the floor.

The struggle over dominance was lost momentarily on Anko's part as Naruto regained composure first and brought himself to his feet, grabbing at the microphone with both his hands.

"Hinata!" he shouted into the device. "I love you, Hinata!"

He wasn't able to say anymore. Kakashi had already unplugged him. It didn't stop Naruto from yelling at the top of his lungs down at her, but even that was cut short when Anko brought herself together and started to drag him back down into the school along with Kakashi leading Shikamaru back as well by the ear.

"What an idiot," one girl next to Hinata commented.

"That was pretty cool though," he friend next to her said.

"I guess. But he's still an idiot."

"Yes," Hinata said. "But he's my idiot."

xxx

Tsunade glowered down at the teenagers that sat in front of her with Shizune standing behind her.

"What the hell do you think you all were doing?!" she shouted.

None of them answered of course, opting for merely looking down into the wood of the desks they were told to sit in. The only way any of them would talk would be if they were spoken to directly.

Tsunade slammed her palm down onto Naruto's desk, startling the boy and causing him to look up at her.

"Listen here you little brat," she growled. "You better have a good reason for causing so much trouble."

"Why do I have to be behind it?" He asked defensively.

"Because it was your voice that was going through the PA system!"

Naruto was going to counter back that argument, but really couldn't. It was a good point. So instead, he opted for saying so.

"So you gonna have a good reason, or what?"

Naruto shrugged slightly. "I'm a teenage lobotomy."

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched. Her anger rose even higher when Kiba snorted at the excuse, even daring to let out a slight chuckle.

"Is there something you find funny, Inuzuka?!" she yelled at him.

Kiba sunk in his seat. "No ma'am. Nothing at all."

Tsunade's fury went back to being directed at the blonde boy in front of here.

"If you don't tell me what the hell-"

"Well you can just stop right there," Naruto cut her off. "Because I'm not going to tell you the real reason why I did it, so there!"

A vein popped out of the older woman's forehead. "You- I should have you expelled!"

Shizune clapped her hands together a little nervously then placed each one of her hands on Tsunade's shoulders.

"We shouldn't do anything rash now," she said with a strained smile. "I'm sure Naruto's just teasing you, we should come back and discuss this when everyone's settled down from all of the excitement."

Shizune more or less forced the other woman out, who was still going on about ungrateful brats who take advantage of everything, out of the door. Before closing the door behind her, Shizune looked over at Naruto and with a clear expression that she disapproved his words.

Once the group inside was sure that the other two were out of earshot, they all turned to one another.

"Why didn't you just tell her?" Ino asked Naruto.

"It's more fun to get a rise out of her first," he explained.

"And you never once thought how dangerous that could be?" asked Tenten.

Naruto shook his head.

"Of course not," Shikamaru sighed.

"Is that a bad thing?" Naruto asked.

"Um, yeah," Ino answered. "If you actually used your head every now and then, maybe you wouldn't have ended up where you are now with Hinata."

"Shut up!" he exclaimed. "You're just picking on me now."

"I liked your excuse though," Kiba said out of nowhere. "I should remember that one."

"I know," Naruto said happily. "It was like the best one ever. I feel like I've used it before though."

"I'm surprised Tsunade didn't snap your neck right then and there," said Ino.

"It's cause she loves me," Naruto told her. "She's not above using corporal punishment, but at least I know I won't die."

"I don't think it's a good thing that you know that," Neji said.

"I'm pretty sure that Naruto is the only one that knows that," Tenten joked.

"With the stupid ass shit he does half the time," Kiba laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"Tell me about it," Ino joined in. "He gets thrown into the office for the stupidest things."

"Like the gum incident," Neji reminded them.

"I remember that," Tenten said. "It's was so not a big deal and he was still able to cause problems with it."

"Didn't he get suspended that week?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, that was with the chair flying out the window," Kiba told him.

"I still don't know how he managed that," Ino said.

"I want to know how he thought it would be a good idea to still be on the chair," Tenten laughed.

"He's such a retard," Kiba laughed with her, and soon enough the others were too.

"Hey assholes, I'm right here!" Naruto cried out at them. And even though he was just a bit ticked off that they were talking about him like he wasn't even in the room, couldn't help but be a tad amused at the stuff he's pulled.

Their small clutter of laughter was cut short when the door to their room opened once more. But instead of another adult coming in to reprimand them for enjoying their punishment like they had all originally thought, Hinata walked in.

"I want to speak with you," she said softly and directed at Naruto.

Naruto breathed deeply unnoticeably and nodded slightly. "Sure," he breathed out.

"We'll, um," Ino strained out and slid from her desk. "We'll just leave."

Tenten, Kiba, and Neji left their seats without much motivation, but Shikamaru needed to be dragged out of his seat by the blonde girl while passing his seat. Ino pushed the other boy out and then closed the door behind her, flashing a small encouraging smile towards the other two.

"Should we listen in?" Tenten asked once Ino had her back to the door.

"As much as I would like to," Ino said. "I think we should just leave them alone."

After agreeing to the statement, Shikamaru looked over at Ino.

"So what do we do now?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I think we should get out of here before we get caught."

All of them began to walk down the corridor, except for Neji. Tenten looked back at him.

"Are you coming?" she asked him. The other's paused in their step and turned back to him as well.

Neji shook his head. "Go on without me. I'm going to wait here."

They left him without saying anything much more, other than another fair warning of not being caught by a passing sensei, and before long they found themselves at the main entrance of the school.

"I think I'm going to check out Sakura's place," Ino stated suddenly. "Just see if she's there."

"I'll come with you," said Shikamaru. "If she is, then Chouji'll be there too."

The pair bid goodbye to the other two and made their own way towards the pinkette's home.

"Going home?" Kiba asked her.

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, I've got nowhere else to be. What about you? Don't you have work?"

Kiba looked at his watch. "I don't have to get going for at least another half hour. Have enough time to get home and change."

"I'll see ya later then," Tenten said and started to walk away from him.

"Tenten!" Kiba yelled after her.

Tenten stopped and turned around to face him. "What is it?"

"Y'know," he said and kicked at a pebble in front of him. "I've been thinking, and really, I haven't been all that fair to you. So if you want to hang out tomorrow, I'm up for it."

"Like a date?" she asked.

Kiba shrugged. "If you want it to be, I guess."

Tenten sighed slightly. "That's okay. You don't have to do that for me. But yeah, we can hang out. I got a feeling that we'll be the only ones not busy with something."

"Well there's Shino," he reminded her.

"Yeah. Y'know I've never really hung around Shino outside of school."

"It's the same thing basically, but, I can bring him along."

Tenten nodded. "Sounds great. I have to meet someone though, so, maybe after that."

"Okay, I guess."

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow."

With those final words, Tenten departed from his presence, leaving Kiba to wave slightly to her retreating figure and his make his own way home.

xx

While Kiba and Tenten were entangled in their own situation, Hinata and Naruto were left in a world of their own. Not in a romantic sense, it was more like they were. Which actually does seem to have some small part of a romantic element, but given the state of their relationship, there was no intimacy between them at the moment.

Hinata spoke first. "Why?"

"You wouldn't listen to me," he said and stood from his seat. "I had to do something that would have you take me serioulsy."

"And if this didn't work? What if I really don't love you anymore, Naruto? What if all you were doing was hurting yourself by doing these stupid things?"

"I don't care if all I do is keep hurting myself but doing this," he said. "Because I hurt you."

Hinata's breath hitched. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's true. Because I deserve so much pain for doing what I did to you. Because I'm an idiot and can't see what right in front of me. Because of a lot of things, but mainly because I love you."

Naruto looked down at the floor, waiting for the rejection he was sure was about to come. But he heard nothing. He looked up and saw that she was crying silently.

"Hinata?" He stepped a bit closer to her.

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry for not listening to you."

"No," he said. "No, you had every right to be pissed of at me. I'm sorry, well, for everything. I'm pretty sure that you felt worse than I did. The last thing I wanted to do was give you more scars and I think that's exactly what I did."

She stepped closer to him, closing whatever distance there was left between them. Hinata looked up into his eyes and carefully wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto wrapped his arms around her, not because of a relfex, but because he os so wanted her to be in his arms.

"What if I could go to sleep for days," she said softly. "Would you count the hours?"

Naruto bent down and pressed their foreheads together. "Or would your restlessness consume," he muttered back to her, "fading memories of me..."

A small smile played on her lips. "There's not one person in this world that could hate me more than I could," she quoted.

Naruto formed an equally small smile with his own lips. "And there's not one person in this world," he went on to the next line, "who will ever love you more than I do."

Hinata leaned forward even moreso into him and caught his lips with her own.

"I love you," she whispered to him.

He smiled down at her and wiped away the reaming tears staining her cheeks. "I love you too."

"I'm sorry," he told her.

"I forgive you," she replied. "I'm sorry too."

"There's nothing to forgive there," he said and kissed her again.

xxx

Kankuro padded down the flight of stairs and walked into the kitchen. Temari sat at the table with her textbooks open and Gaara stood in front of the stove, placing a kettle on a burner, and then apparently trying to prove the statement "A watched pot never boils" wrong.

"Heading out?" Temari asked him without even glancing up at him.

Kankuro headed for the cupboard underneath the sink and pulled out plastic bags filled with items needed for his concotions.

"Yeah, I need to restock," he answered afterwards.

"You're getting paid for everything those two at your base are using, right?" she questioned him.

"Yeah," he said. "Don't worry 'bout them two, they're keeping up with their tab. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You got work lined up?"

"I got stuff," she replied. "You don't have to worry about that either."

"I'm just saying," Kankuro said in a half-defensive tone. "Y'know we just started to bring in more money. Before we barely made anything."

"No Kankuro, I had no idea," she said sarcastically. "I was completely unaware of our money woes."

Kankuro kept his mouth shut and lifted the bags to the table so that he would be able to both double check through everything and pack them into his school bag after emptying it's contents off all of his school supplies.

"It really doesn't matter," Kankuro said at last. "We're making it now, so, whatever. We got money."

"We'll be receiving more soon enough."

Both Temari and Kankuro looked over at their younger sibling. Gaara still stood with his back to the two of them, but the words he spoke were clearer then ever.

"What do you mean?" Kankuro couldn't help but ask.

Gaara looked back over his shoulder back at the two of them. He quickly moved back to watching to stove. "Uchiha," he said. "He's going to be searching out for me again."

"What makes you say that?" Kankuro asked again.

Temari gasped slightly. "I forgot all about school today."

Kankuro snapped his head in her direction. "School?" he questioned. Then he suddenly remembered the previous events that had occurred that day. "That's right, that little blonde noob did that thing for that girl Sasuke wants to own. What was that about?"

"Something to get her back on his side," Temari said. "At least that's what I heard."

"Think it worked?"

"With the way she's been mooning over him all this time, most definitely," she answered.

"Sucks for Sasuke," Kankuro said. "Think he'll hire you Gaara?"

"Without a doubt," Gaara replied.

"As long as he doesn't do it this weekend," Temari said. "I've got work lined up for the next three days and I hate going on them alone."

"If you'd go around to the places where I make my rounds," Kankuro told her. "Then you wouldn't have to rely on Gaara all the time. I can look out for you."

"I have no intention of having you help me out ever again," she said. "Everytime you say you'll look out for me, I'm always ditched."

"That happened once," Kankuro defended.

"Twice," Gaara countered.

"Three times," Temari corrected. "Stick to what you know, Kankuro, 'cause you sure as hell aren't of any use to me."

"What if the little bitch hires Gaara this weekend?" Kankuro asked her. "It's either me or no one."

Temari glanced over to the back of her youngest brother. "Gaara? Do you think he'd take you offer up so soon?"

"Most likely," came his response. "This isn't the first time we've made business with an Uchiha. They're very impatient."

Temari groaned. "As long as it's not tomorrow," she sighed. "I've got three high paying gigs lined up tomorrow."

"And if it is?" questioned Kankuro. "Are you really gonna go alone?"

Temari groaned again. She looked at him pointedly. "If I take you along, you have to be somewhere where I can see you at all times. I'm not gonna be left behind again."

"Alright, alright," he said. "Shit, I don't see why you can't go alone, it's not like you can't take care of yourself on these things."

"Yeah, I know. But having someone nearby keeps me more at ease."

"Whatever," the boy said and gathered his bag. "I'll see ya later."

"Later," Temari said with a small wave.

Kankuro made his exit known with a loud slam on the front door. Temari slightly winced at it, but let it go. It was too late to give him a reprimading. She took a gander at the clock mounted next to the refrigerator and decided to pack up her things and try to finish her homework up later.

While she did that, Gaara watched the kettle in front of him more intensley. Non-existent eyebrows rose at the sudden whistling, sounding that the water had come to a perfect bubbly state. Though it shouldn't have been anything particularly odd, what puzzled the redhead slightly was how quick it had happened, when not only a minute ago he had let it on the stove top. On average, water should not boil that quickly.

Gaara turned the burner off and whilst doing so, flickered his eyes up and out of the window pane just above. There were some dark clouds nearby, most likely just coming through and presenting them with a quick shower.

"Storm's coming," he said off handedly, more to himself than to Temari.

Temari's eyes wandered over to him and tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Figuratively or literally?" she joked.

Gaara removed the kettle from the stove and placed it placidly on the counter top nearby.

"Both."

tbc. . .

(1) I don't know what it's called, and I couldn't get an answer from my brother 'cause he wouldn't answer his phone (seriously, what's the point in owning a mobile if you're not going to answer it?), but I know it exists.

A/N: Another mystery has been solved! Well, sort of. I don't know if anyone wondered what my favorite pairing is (other than the people I talk to outside of reviews) so now it is known that I, Lalaith Weasley, am a die-hard-core... NaruHina fan!! Can I get a "Hell yeah!" from my fellow NaruHina lovers? XP I mean, come on, doesn't it make you want to tilt your head and go, "Aww.."? I personally think they're adorable together and I know there's someone out there disagreeing with me right now, but that's just my opinion. Part of me is a realist by habit, but I like to believe that I am a romantic by nature. Really, the only thing the realist side of me gets any say in is whether or not something ends happily when it comes to the things I write. I mean, we should all know that not all stories have a happy ending. Will this one? We'll find out. Prolouge's in the next scene, and I'm sure by now everyone knows that someone's going to die, and if you didn't know, well, now you do. But who will it be? I know, of course I know, but I'm not saying anything. Place your bets now! So then, responses and then sayonara:

Chronostorm: That would have been a good idea, but Neji just found out in this chapter.

Hali-chan: Hey... Sorry, I know you wanted SasuHina, but it was going to end up this way from the very beginning. I just didn't want to burst your bubble. But if it's anything, Sasuke actually really does like her which is actually why the whole prolouge scene happens. -cough- Anyway... And the karaokee thing, it was made by the people who made the Sims so it's a very sims theme. But I don't think people really pay attention to that. It's just fun to sing and do other stuff there. And it is very addicting. I even combined fanfiction and Sims with each other. I've made sims for the characters in this fic and in another fic that I want to work on. I had to download a lot of custom content. I actually wanted to put them on-line so that people could download them, but the game is on a different computer so I have to get around that but I'm not sure how.

Madge: Oueah, je sais, mais qu'est-ce que c'est tu m'as fait d'elle? Bien sûr c'etait incroyable ce que elle n'apprederait pas quand Nettie, et toi aussi, il a appris. Et je ne sais pas parce que quoi, particulment quand c'était le langue j'ai demandé pour mon court, mais c'est comme ça. Juste.. nous devons l'acceptons.

Misa-chan: Wish come true! And, I don't know, they say that it's purely psychological, whatever that means. I don't really believe in psychology though, all that stuff's in your head.

So anyway, I'm kinda already guessing that the next chapter, I'm not going to finish it in a week. It might even take me longer than two. It's going to be long. Like, possibly even longer than act two scene six long. So, no update next week, but the week after.. possibly. Sorry, but I'm just playing it safe and I hate to break a promise, but I just don't know. Really though, I'm gonna try to finish it up as quick as I can. If I work diligently, I should be able to get it done faster than anticipated. 'Kay then, mad love and later much.

beta's note: yosh!! alright i got ten riding on the dead body being... shika. cause sasuke's gonna hit up gaara and shika's gonna take the hit for naruto. that's my logic. shut up madge i nkow what your thinking. this isn't like the fruits basket bet i'm gonna be right with this one. and dogs can look up. it's cats that can't look down. (cough) anyway... review!! the prolouge mystery will be solved next chapter.


	33. III, ix

xxx  
Scene IX: "Most of the time jealousy turns to anger... people's actions become irrational, questionable, and in our case, quite deadly."  
xxx

Neji pushed open the door to Hinata's bedroom and walked quietly to her bedside. The moment he was beside her and gazed down at her sleeping figure, a whirlwind of emotions sprang up on him. The truth of the matter was he still was very much in love with her, and though now she was happy with her love life he couldn't help but feel a tad crushed knowing that he had no chance at all now. Still, her happiness would always be prioritized before his own, and if that meant he couldn't be with her so be it. It would take awhile, no doubt about that, but Neji was certain that someday he would be able to love her to the same degree but on a lesser scale.

He shook his head slightly, freeing himself from previous musings and shook Hinata's form slightly. Hinata let out a small whine and rolled over onto her side while trying to swat away Neji's hand. Neji couldn't help but smile a bit at her childlike behavior.

"Hinata," he called out and shook her again.

Hinata rolled back over and let out a small sigh while her eyes began to open. She then sat up and stretched her arms up into the air, rubbing away remaining sleep from her eyes after doing so.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Before seven," he answered. "Just like you asked."

"Thanks," she said and lifted the blankets off of herself.

"Why'd you want to get up earlier today?" he asked her.

"I wanted to walk to school with Naruto today," she said happily while getting out of bed.

A sudden thought crossed her mind at that moment. Hinata realized that for the past few days, she had been so wrapped up with her own personal issues and feelings that she had forgotten how Neji felt about her. She quickly spun to face the exiting figure of her cousin.

"Neji," she called out.

Neji stopped mid step and turned back to face her. "What is it?"

"Um... How are you?" she asked.

Neji quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"It's just... I haven't really been paying attention to you because of everything that's been going on with me."

"Oh. Is that it?"

"Well, yeah, I've been so wrapped up with my own issues-"

Neji interrupted her. "Hinata, as long as you're happy, I am too. Okay?"

"But-"

He cut her off again. "Okay?"

Hinata gave up trying to argue with him and settled for a nod. "If you're sure."

"I am," he assured her. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"So you're fine with me being with Naruto?" she asked somewhat cautiously.

"Of course I am, I have no reason to not," he told her. "And you seem to be happier than I've ever seen you before. But yeah, I guess I am a little concerned and want to keep an extra close eye on you when you go out with him."

"But you know him," she said.

"Exactly. That's why it unsettles me, I can't think the best of him in certain situations when I know exactly what he'd do."

Hinata started laughing. "You're paranoid!"

"I'm careful," he tried to explain but noted his point was lost amongst her laughter. "Alright, just change already so we can get out of here."

Hinata stifled her laughter and blocked her mouth with one of her hands and waved the other towards Neji, signaling to leave while she changed into her uniform.

xxx

Naruto had awoken to the sound of his phone ringing. More than slightly irritated, he rolled over and groaned into his pillow. His prayers for the ringing to come to an end went unheard as the persistent sound echoed through the small abode. Finally, at the end of his resolve to ignore the annoyance, Naruto rolled out of bed, shuffled his way to the phone hanging on the wall, and lifted the receiver to his ear.

"Go for Naruto," he mumbled.

"Why can't you answer the phone normally?"

Naruto's eyebrows rose at the sound of the voice on the other end. "Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?"

Naruto said nothing for a moment. "Why are you calling?"

"I wanted to ask if you were going in today," the other boy replied.

"Uh... Are you?"

"No."

"Okay... I don't think I am either. Don't really see the point since I wasn't even really there this week. Was that it?"

"No."

Neither one said anything. "So what else didja need?" Naruto asked.

"Well I can't stay at home if I skip, would it be alright if I crashed at your place for the day?"

"Yeah," Naruto said and yawned at the same time. "That's no problem. You can help me clean up around here."

"Maybe I should go to school..."

Naruto laughed a little. "So mean... So where are you right now? Still at home?"

"No, I was on my way to the school but didn't really feel like listening to another lecture from Tsunade. 'Cause ya know that's what she's gonna do."

"Yeah I know," Naruto agreed. "The thought of punishment kinda ruins the entire weekend."

"Hn. Right, I'm gonna hang up."

"'Kay, see ya."

Naruto hung up the phone and stretched. Before he was even given the opportunity to ponder whether or not he should go back to bed or begin the day, there came a knock on the door. Naruto went over to it, not even bothering to wonder who it could've been so early in the morning, and twisted the handle, letting the cool breeze inside the rather warm home. His face splint into a large smile at the sight of his visitor.

"Hinata," he greeted. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I wanted to walk to school with you," she answered and slightly tilted her head. "But it looks like you're not ready."

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed and stepped back. "I'm not going to school today."

"Are you not feeling well?" she asked.

"It's not that," he replied. "I just don't see the point in going since I wasn't even really there the whole week."

"That might be true," she said. "But wouldn't it make more sense to go, collect the work you missed, and be able to do it over the weekend so that it doesn't interfere with the work we'll get next week?"

"That.. No, 'cause.. then my weekend'll be ruined."

From somewhere behind Hinata, Naruto swore he heard someone snort at his infallible excuse.

"Who's with you?" he asked her.

"It's just Neji," she said and sidestepped as well as gesture to where her cousin was hiding.

Neji stepped out from his unintentional hiding space and made himself known to the blonde boy, his hand raised slightly in a greeting fashion.

"Any reason why you're laughing at me?" Naruto questioned.

"Not really," Neji answered. "It's pretty much the same reason anyone laughs at you."

"For some reason, that doesn't seem to bother me," Naruto stated.

"Because it's true," Neji told him.

"Neji, you're like, the bestest friend anyone could have."

"Thank you," the other boy said smugly.

"That wasn't... Whatever," Naruto sighed, not really feeling up to arguing so early in the day. "Anyway, Hinata, you skip too and hang around here? Shikamaru's doing it too."

"That's okay," Neji answered for her. "She's changed enough, she doesn't need to start skipping school."

Hinata rolled her eyes and pushed Neji aside. "As much as it sounds, I'll go to school. I got to make some clear there anyway. Give some stuff back and whatnot."

Naruto nodded. "Alright I guess. Just thought it'd be nice we went out somewhere."

"I'll take you somewhere tonight," she said and stepped away from the front door.

Naruto smiled. "Are you asking me out?"

Hinata smiled back at him. "Yeah. I think I'm entitled to treat you every now and then."

"Sounds like fun," he laughed. "You two go have a blast at school, I'm sure I'm missing out there."

"I'll see you later then," she called out to him while following after Neji.

Naruto waved the pair off. "Be careful, 'kay?"

Hinata waved back at him and went to catch up alongside her cousin. Naruto stepped back into his home and closed the door behind him.

'That was kinda weird,' he thought. 'I shouldn't have had to tell her to be carefull. Not like anything bad's gonna happen.'

xxx

Sasuke was extremely anxious that morning, and by all means had every right to be. He had no idea of the outcome from the recent events, and the possibility of losing what he had gained from all of his careful planning was at stake. Needless to say, seeing Hinata standing outside of the school's front doors was a bit nerve wracking, since she never had done anything like that before. He hung back at the front gates, letting everyone else pass by him and just watched as Hinata stood waiting.

A few minutes later, the trickle of students going into the school lessened, and yet Sasuke still hadn't passed the actual property line of the school. It was somewhere around that time that Ino walked by him, giving him more of a strange look than an evil one. She went passed by Hinata, greeting her with a quick good morning and getting one back before she would get to her locker and prepare for the day before suddenly coming to a screeching halt and turning back to her.

Sasuke was unable to hear the words exchanged between the two but was able to witness Ino pull Hinata into the school in a hurry. He immediately went after them, a bit worried with what the blonde would have to say to her, especially since he knew that she was suspicious of him from the very beginning and on Naruto's side the entire time.

He hurried after them, not being able to decipher what Ino was telling her while they walked but the closer he got, the more was he was able to tell.

"Hinata!" he called out.

Hinata turned back and Ino did as well. This time Ino did glare at him and dragged the other girl into a nearby bathroom. Sasuke had tried to catch up to them and stop Hinata from entering with Ino, but wasn't able to in time. He did the only thing he could do then, he leaned against the wall next to the door and waited.

By the time the late bell had rung, they still had not come out from the room. Still, Sasuke waited, not really sure if he could say anything to dismiss what Ino was saying about him or even if he could convince her to stay with him, but he was going to try anyway.

Finally the door opened and Sasuke stood up straight. Hinata was the first one to come out and face him. Before he was able to say anything to her, she extended her hand and slapped him across his face. Sasuke reached for the spot she had hit with one of his hands and turned to look at her.

"I don't really want to believe it," she said. "But I do."

"Hinata," he began. "Everything she said-"

She cut him off. "I know it's not a lie because Naruto did tell me the same thing all that time ago, I just didn't want to listen to him then. But now it's not just him saying it, Sasuke. How could you?"

He said nothing.

"How could you just use people like that?" she went. "That's just not right."

She pulled a chain from her blazer's pocket and tossed it at him. Sasuke caught it in midair, opening his palm to see the ring he had given her not long ago.

"There's your ring back," she said and stepped back from him. "I don't ever want you to talk to me again. Not after what you pulled."

Sasuke watched her storm away and Ino trailing behind her. He clenched the ring in the palm of his hand, and in a moment of anger punched at the wall behind him and made for the front doors to leave the school grounds.

xxx

Lee looked casually through the rows of books, not calling any attention out to himself. Though he appeared to be doing nothing more than browsing like any other student in the library, he was also gathering information. On the very opposite of these shelves of books, a small table of filled with girls and their open books was located. Normally, this would interest Lee at all had not Tenten been a part of the group, all the reason for his eavesdropping.

Suddenly, Tenten stood up and annouced her departure. With the unecessary consent of the other girls, Tenten packed up her belongings and started to find her way out of the room. Lee placed the random book he had been pretending to skim over back into it's proper place and follow her out.

There was no real crowding in the hallways, it being only the middle of the lunch hour and the majority of the student body in the middle of their respected lunches, leaving it somewhat difficult for Lee to be nonchalant and trail the girl at the same time. Though, as long as Tenten suspected nothing, it would have been fine.

It was when seeing Tenten slowed her pace and Lee chose to hide behind one of the display cases that the begining of a conversation where anything that could be considered valuable information would be said.

"Hinata," Tenten called out and waved at the approaching girl. "Where are you going?"

"Up to the roof," she answered when she came to a stop in front of the girl. "Everyone else here today should be there eating lunch. Are you going up there?"

"Yeah," Tenten replied. "I just need to get my bento. I left it in my locker."

"I'll come with you," Hinata said, and turned herself in the same direction of the other girl.

"You don't have to," Tenten said.

"No, it's okay," Hinata told her. "Besides, it feels like we haven't really talked for a long time now."

'That's because I kinda hated you for awhile there,' Tenten thought but kept to herself.

"You're right," she said. "Let's hurry then, half of the break has already gone by."

The two girls continued off in the direction of Tenten's locker unaware of the boy following them the enitre time, listening intently on their conversation. As they neared their destination, it was even easier for him to listen in on.

"So Ino told you, huh?" he overheard Tenten asked.

"Yeah," Hinata said rather softly.

"I wanted to tell ya the moment I found out," Tenten said while imputing her combination. "But-"

"I know," Hinata cut off. "Ino told me about why you guys kept it hush. And it makes sense, I guess."

"But hey," Tenten said in a happier tone. "None of that matters, right? I mean, yeah, you guys took the long way, but you got your dream boy, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," she laughed.

"You guess? Come on, you gotta be happy."

"I am," she confessed. "I am."

"Glad someone is," Tenten said quietly and brought out her lunch. "Anyway, are you two doing anything tonight?"

"Uh, yeah," Hinata answered. "I'm not really sure what, but I know we'll do something. Why? Did you want to do something with everyone?"

"No, nothing like that," Tenten said. "I'll be going out tonight too."

Lee's ears twitched at her sentence. He leaned in a bit closer from his hiding spot to hear clearer.

"I'm meeting Kiba later tonight," she went on.

Lee's heart stopped, his natural assumption with interpreting her words, without even realizing that she mentioned Shino's name right afterwards, was that Kiba had finally succeeded in stealing Tenten away from him completely now.

'If Tenten and Kiba are going out together than that must mean it's a date,' his mind rationalized. 'Which can only mean that the chances of me being able to show her the limits of my affection are slowly slipping away. I must follow them tonight and make sure that Tenten does not fall too deeply for him!'

"I must!" he exclaimed and pumped his fist in the air, then quickly looking over to see if they had heard him. Luckily for him the other two girls had already left, on their way to the rooftop for the remainder of the lunch hour.

"I must," he repeated in a whisper and clenched his fist to his chest.

xxx

Gaara was alone for once in his small hideaway at school. He wasn't completely sure where his siblings were, but honestly didn't really care. They were old enough to take care of themselves. In any case, what they were up to was of no importance to him. That only matter that was important to him at the moment was being on call for his line of work, which by his instinct, would be at any moment now.

Though the possibility of the Uchiha approaching him on this day would be considered unlikely, Gaara was most certain that he would make an appearance before him, and therefor waited patiently in the semi-darkness. Mostly preoccupying himself with notions on how Sasuke would want the job done. Considering his personality and whole perspective on the ordeal, quick and painless was something that the boy would go for. Which in all actuality was fine for Gaara, it would give him a chance to redevelop his creative side.

Gaara was ripped out of his musings by the sudden action of the wooden door being thrown open and the shadow of a figure entering quickly. Once the light was evened out some, the figure appeared to be none other than Sasuke himself, which didn't faze Gaara one bit seeing as how he was already anticipating this.

Gaara said nothing, merely locked his eyes onto Sasuke's cool gaze and waited for the other to either begin speaking or make the first move.

Sasuke reached into the pocket of his school blazer and pulled out an elongated manila envelope. He tossed the item onto the table surface in front of the other. Gaara slid the envelope closer to himself before lifting it up to himself closer and flipping the lap to peer inside at the contents. He made no move to hide the smirk playing on his lips at the sight of the bills.

He looked back at Sasuke and questioned placidly, "When?"

"Tonight," the other answered.

Gaara sealed the envelope again and pocketed the cash. "How?"

Sasuke's eyebrow rose. "I get to choose the method of which you get rid of him?"

"Seems fair," Gaara replied.

Sasuke looked away in thought, weighing every option in his mind before turing back to the red head. "As slowly and agonizingly as possible."

Gaara's eyes brightened at the response. "Done."

Sasuke had turned to make his exit, but a sudden impulse had him facing the other boy again. "I have a question."

"What is it?" Gaara asked.

"Is it possible," Sasuke began, "for me to be there while you do it?"

"You want to be there?" the red head inquired.

"I want to see the life drain away from his eyes," Sasuke explained.

Gaara ran the idea through his head. After some consideration, he brought out a notebook from his school bag and flipped it open.

"That can be arranged," he said.

xxx

Sakura signed off of her account and put her computer to stand by. After doing so she leapt from her chair and strolled over to her closet, opening it, and flittered through all of her hanging clothes, looking for a particular outfit. It was during that moment that Chouji walked back into her room.

"Hey," he called out. "School's gonna be out soon and you know what that means."

"Yeah," she replied. "They'll be here, sniffing around."

"So what's for today?" he asked.

"Two dates," she answered. "One in the afternoon, and one later on tonight."

"Good money?"

"More or less, there'll be enough to spare."

"That's good," Chouji sighed. "What are you looking for?"

"Well the outfit I have on now will be fine for this afternoon," she explained. "But I'm gonna need something a little more dressy for tonight."

After saying as so, Sakura made a small noise, signalling that she had found what she had been looking for. She pulled out a hanger with a dress on it still in a plastic bag out and spun around to show Chouji.

"It's new," she said. "What do you think?"

"Pretty," he replied, not really knowing what else he should say.

Sakura paid no mind to his enthusiastic response and busied herself with unwrapping the dress and folding it neatly. Knowing that there would be no way of getting wrinkles out of the fabric later on, she needed to make every precaution that none would be able to take shape in the first place.

"Where we going for now?" she asked him. "We still got like, an hour before I meet with the guy."

Chouji shrugged. "I don't know. We could head over to Kankuro's place for now."

"Wanna take my car this time?" she asked and headed for her bedroom door.

"It'll help us get away from here faster," he said. "I don't think we'd be able to use it later on tonight though. It could give us away."

"We'll leave it over there when it's time to start our working rounds," Sakura assured him. "C'mon, let's go."

"Are you sober enough?"

"I'm fine to drive," she assured him. "C'mon, let's go."

Sakura motioned for him to leave before her. Chouji exited the room first for a change and Sakura was the one that ended up closing her door behind her.

xxx

Even though Ino was supposed to head straight to the flower shop after school, she ran down the block towards Sakura's home. There was no real reason for why she was running, it was more of an impulse. And the more she tried to push it aside knowing full well that if she were to make her way there Sakura would not be there, the more it drove her to move her feet faster.

Ino came to a gradual stop as she neared the house, catching her breath while inspecting the surroundings. Sakura's father was not home, and with Sakura's own vehicle, deducted that the pinkette was not there either. Ino groaned slightly, frustrated with thinking that something of importance was going to happen if she had come here. She shook her head, and even though thought it was kind of pointless, walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. When no one had come to answer it, she tested the door and found that it was open.

A sudden sense of deja vu hit her, recalling the last time something like this had occurred. In a slight panic, Ino entered the building, slipping her shoes off and dropping her school bag off at the door. As she creeped though the house, she heard the light snoring of her mother coming from the sitting room. For some reason, this settled Ino's concerns a tad. Upon coming into contact with the staircase, Ino padded up the steps as quickly and quietly as possible.

Just as before, Ino walked down the hallway and towards Sakura's bedroom door. Seeing that it was closed completely, she placed her hand on the handle and with one motion opened it and half ran in.

Her shoulders slumped at the sight of no living presence.

She turned to make her way out and on her way to the flower shop when a thought dawned on her. She twisted her head around her, observing every corner of the room, contemplating whether or not she should snoop around a bit, try to find what Sakura and Chouji have been up to. Then the thought of how she could not have come up with the idea before hit her and brought her palm to her face for having overlooked the option.

Ino began with the desk. She crept over to the wooden table and sat down at the chair, and started to investigate the top drawer. Finding nothing of any importance there, she moved down to the second. Located there was a small notebook hidden beneath several sheets of random school work and different color pens.

Ino lifted the little book from the drawer and without a second thought, opened to the first page and began to read.

The contents written down in the booklet confused her at first. Several of the pages at the begging were labeled with the date and then items of food listed with how many calories in each of them next to them. As Ino went on, turning pages after pages, the lists became shorter until pages came up with either one item of food listed or none at all. After some more careful analyzing, Ino had begun to realize that everything that listed throughout the numerous pages, were things that Sakura had eaten by recognizing certain foods. The fact first became clear to her upon stumbling on the date that her and all of the other girls had gone out to dinner together and Sakura herself had only ordered a salad. Apparently that was the only thing she had eaten that day.

Having concern creep into her even more, Ino investigated the later pages, noting that further along she went, the emptier the pages were. The tops were still labeled with the dates, but there was nothing beneath them.

"What the hell..." she muttered to herself. Ino shut the book and then began to search the room more vigorously.

She went through every nook and cranny, only to come up empty handed. Ino paused for a moment to give Sakura some sort of credit for being able to conceal everything that she had been doing.

A little more than slightly discouraged, Ino picked herself from off of the floor from when she had thought to look under the bed, and was thinking of leaving when the small flashing light coming from the computer caught her eye. Ino went back to the desk a second time and planted herself in the chair once more, taking the mouse into her hand and moving it around on it's pad, waiting for the black screen to clear off.

As soon as the desktop was visible, Ino instantly clicked onto the Internet link.

'What now?' she thought. 'Where would I go?'

Her first thought was to check out the sites that would have been recorded in the browser at the top. When that was empty, she tried to check the history, only to find that it had been cleaned out.

Ino's brows furrowed. Sakura was hiding something major from people if she had gone to this extreme. She knew of only one other way, if it proved to fail as well, Ino would have to call it quits. Hovering over the links she found the option she wanted and went through some more to get to the window where Internet files were listed. She cheered slightly at the sight of them all.

Cracking her fingers, she started to go through them all.

xxx

Tenten decided to skip out on the prior engagements that she had set earlier on in the week. It wasn't a last minute decision either. She had thought right after returning home the previous day that she would begin to settle down with her night time activities. In a way, Tenten had started to drop all of her drama baggage, and being to grow up if not just a little.

"Hey!" she called out to a familiar figure.

Kiba waved back as he came closer to her, shoving his hands into his pockets right after.

"Where's Shino?" she asked once he was standing closer to her.

"He's gonna meet us up later," Kiba told her. "We'll probably see Shikamaru and Ino around too."

"What're they doing together?" she wondered out loud.

"Looking out for Chouji and Sakura, not doubt."

Tenten gasped slightly. "I had forgotten about them."

"I kinda did too," Kiba confessed.

"But y'know," Tenten said. "Now that Naruto and Hinata are okay, we can help them out full time."

"Yeah... Come on, let's go."

Kiba jerked his head to the side and started to walk in the general direction. Tenten followed after him immediately, keeping her pace up with him.

"Where're we going?" she asked.

"There's a show," he said. "It's just another one of the many undiscovered underground bands, but I thought we could check it out anyway."

"Where at?"

"You know that abandoned looking place?"

"Yeah."

"It's in that building they just put up next to it," Kiba said. "Well it's not in it, as much as it is under it. You'll see when we get there."

Tenten nodded in reply and the rest of the way they were silent. Upon reaching their destination, Tenten was the first to spot Ino and Shikamaru coming up from the opposite way.

"Hey, you two!" she called out and waved at them.

Ino waved back at her with a small smile on her face, pulling at Shikamaru's sleeve over to them.

"What are you guys doing over here?" Kiba asked.

"This is one of the last places we're looking at," Ino explained.

"Haven't found Sakura or Chouji yet?" Tenten asked.

Ino's eyes casted downwards while she shook her head sullenly. "No."

"Are they even here?" Kiba asked them.

"Ino said that she was sure that Sakura and Chouji would be around here," Shikamaru said.

"I just don't know where, though," Ino sighed.

"We were just talking about this," Tenten told them. "Hey, we're not really doing anything, we can help you find them."

"Really?" Ino asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Tenten assured her then turned to Kiba. "That's fine, isn't it."

"Yeah, I guess," Kiba shrugged. "We're just here to hang around anyway. Oh, wait, Shino."

"Shino?" Shikamaru questioned.

"We were meeting him here," Kiba explained. "Guess we could wait for him to turn up and ask if he wants to help out."

"There always the off chance that he could've heard something," said Tenten.

The other two agreed and the four friends stood close together on the sidewalk, a little off to the side so that they wouldn't be in the way of pedestrian's walking past. A few minutes passed, very little was said between any of them. All of them had become so accustomed to the silence that they were all startled when Kiba's phone went off. Kiba fumbled around looking for the small device. When he finally found it, he flipped the top up and briefly looked at the caller ID before pressing the green button.

"Yeah?" he answered and walked a bit away from the rest of the group. "Where?.. Hold on, stay on the line."

Kiba turned back towards the other three, placing the phone against his chest so that it wouldn't pick up his voice. "I'll be right back," he told them and walked down the sidewalk after saying so, his voice becoming fainter and fainter with each step.

"Who was that?" Ino wondered.

Tenten shrugged. "I don't know. It was probably Shino."

Suddenly, Shikamaru started off in the opposite direction of Kiba.

"Where are you going?" Ino asked him.

"I'll be back," the boy called out to them, not even bothering to turn his head so that the two girls would be able to hear him better.

Ino and Tenten watched as he walked away, not even looking as though he knew what he was doing walking off himself. Ino shook her head and slumped back a little against the wall. Tenten looked over at the girl and studied her slightly. She saw that the blonde looked a bit different from her normal self. Something seemed off with the girl, almost as if there were some heavy weights on her shoulders.

"You okay?" Tenten asked her.

"Hm? Yeah," Ino answered, slightly in a haze. "There's nothing wrong with me. Anyway, what's with you and Kiba? Were you guys supposed to be one a date?"

Tenten smiled weakly, then shook her head. "No. Well, kinda, but it's more of just a pity date."

"Why would you say that?" the blonde questioned.

"'Cause Kiba doesn't like me like that," she answered. "The only reason he offered to take me out was for my sake. I even know that. That's why I offered for Shino to be with us. So that nothing would really be awkward."

"Well if you've got Shino with you then it's like having no one at all," Ino half laughed.

Tenten let out a light giggle. "Maybe.. But anyway, what's up with you Ino. You kinda changed the subject back there."

"Change the subject on what?" Shikamaru asked, coming back from his small adventure.

"Where'd you go?" Ino demanded, rounding on him.

"Over there," he answered and motioned his head in the way he had taken off in.

Ino rolled her eyes up slightly. "Fine, don't tell me. Hey, Kiba's back too."

"That was Shino," he explained while maing his way back to them. "He kinda got lost."

"But he's still coming here?" Tenten asked him.

Kiba nodded in response and the group settled back into it's previous silence. Tenten however, kept her eye on Ino, seeing anxiety show in her eyes, even more so as time went by. Ino caught her stare at one point and even acknowledged to Tenten silently that there was something that she wanted to share with her. Tenten, silently as well, nodded ever so slightly to communicate to Ino that she would hear her out with whatever it is that was on her mind.

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom inside," Ino annouced. "Tenten, come with me yeah?"

"Sure," Tenten answered happily and followed after the girl.

"Why can't girls go to the bathroom by themselves?" Kiba asked once they were gone.

"Why are you asking me?" Shikamaru directed at him.

Kiba shrugged and leaned back against the wall.

xxx

The girl's restroom, was a bit snug with the jam packed bodies of several females fiddling around with hair and make-up brushes in front of the elongated mirror hanging over the sinks. Ino led the way through the mass chaos of femininity with Tenten trailing exactly behind her. Ino found that the last stall was empty and nudged Tenten, signaling that they would go in there and hold a somewhat normal conversation.

Once they were settled inside, Ino locked the door behind her, even though there was no certainty that they wouldn't be overheard.

"Isn't this gonna look a little weird?" Tenten asked her.

"If it does, it does," Ino shrugged. She then looked at Tenten with a look on her face that somewhat spelled inner turmoil. "Tenten... this is way over my head."

"What is?" the brunnette questioned, now fully concerned.

Ino took a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay, I went to Sakura's today," she began. "I don't really know why 'cause I knew she wouldn't be there, but I just felt like I should."

"Was she there?" Tenten asked.

Ino shook her head. "No. But I was in her room and I thought, maybe y'know, I could snoop around try to find something 'cause I don't know anything that's going on with her anymore. Like I don't know what's going on with her right now, y'know."

"Yeah, I know about her and Chouji, I told you guys that I'd help out," Tenten said. "Guess it's time time for that now, huh?"

"It's not just that Tenten," Ino half gasped. "Sakura.. she's a lot worse off then I thought."

"What do you mean?"

Ino stayed silent for a moment, everything that she had seen and concluded because of that coming back into her mind.

"I, um... I went through her desk.. and.. I found this notebook in one of the drawers. And.. I didn't now what it was at first, 'cause all it was was just like dates on top of the page and on the bottom there would be like a list of different food and next to everything would be how many calories and stuff was in all of it. Then I realized that it was like a food diary or something 'cause I recognized some stuff was what she ate on certain days."

"Why would she keep something like that?" Tenten questioned.

"That's what I asked myself," Ino told her. "So I started looking around even more and there was nothing. I mean, nothing. Sakura, she like made sure that what she does, there's like no trace of it at all."

"So what'd you do?"

"I saw that she had left her computer on standby," Ino said.

"So you checked out her history?" Tenten asked.

"No, not exactly," the blonde told her. "She cleaned it out. Her browser too. But she didn't delete the files."

"That's why I say," Tenten interjected. "Gotta make sure to clean out everything."

Ino waved the other girls' words off. "Yeah, yeah. So, there were like, tons of them, so I was actually there for awhile. Most of the newer files were from those dating sites that we did that one time."

"She's doing that?"

"I think she's doing it to pay for everything that she's been taking."

"Makes sense."

"Yeah, well, I went even further and found some different kinds of sites."

"And they were?"

Ino quieted down for a second time. "They were kinda weird. All of them were like, some of them looked like dieting sites, 'cause there was tons of info and stuff about how to lose weight, but... they were all more like..."

"Like what?" Tenten pushed.

"Like... They were just promoting being thin. And not even really thin, more just skinny. Like, skeletal skinny. Like on all of these sites there were sections with pictures of girls that had their bones poking through their skin and everything, like every bone, was just visible. And every comment on every picture was say something about how wonderfull all of them looked, or how nice it must be, or what a great job they were doing. There was even the occasional comment saying how some of the girls weren't really all that skinny. It was kinda disturbing for me."

"They're girls with eating disorders," Tenten said.

"How d'you know?" Ino asked.

"I've seen a lot of them on-line," Tenten explained. "I was just going through everything one day, clicking link after link, not really paying attention to what, and came across some of them. I didn't really get it at first, so I kept looking through a bunch until I could kinda understand why."

"Did you ever?"

Tenten shook her head. "No. I didn't. But I did more than when I first came across them."

Ino nodded thoughtfully. "I though the same thing, but I didn't really get why Sakura would be looking at stuff like that. And it wasn't just a one day thing, there were tons of them going as far back as months ago. I didn't really want to think that she was doing something like that."

"Then what?" Tenten pressed.

"I went home," Ino told her. "If she wasn't there it'd be kinda weird if I was."

"'Kay, got that, then what?"

"I got onto my computer and started looking up websites. Not like the ones that I had just seen, the ones that are, you know, carry information on how to like, um... how to tell if someone has an eating disorder, what signs to look for."

"So you think she has an eating disorder?" Tenten asked her.

"Not only that," Ino went on. "I think there's even more wrong with her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I was reading through all the signs and one one of them was perfectionist personality," said Ino. "And at first, I didn't really even think that Sakura was like that, 'cause y'know I always thought that perfectionists were these people who were, well obsessed with being perfect. And y'know Sakura, she isn't, she hasn't been doing good in school lately so I thought that there was no way she could be a perfectionist. But when I clicked on the info link next to it and started reading what a perfectionist really was and it actually described her pretty accurately."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Yeah, I think it kinda is. Tenten... I feel like a really bad friend."

"That's not true," Tenten said softly. "Come on, Ino, you've become the most thoughtful one out of all of us. You're one of the greatest friends anyone could ever have."

Tenten looked over to Ino and saw that Ino's eyes started to brim with tears. "Ino?"

"Still..." Ino trailed off.

Tenten moved to stand next to her and put one arm around her shoulder to give some comfort to the blonde. "It'll be okay. Sakura'll be fine. Chouji too. All of us'll pull together for them. And if Sakura needs more help, we'll give it to her."

Ino sniffed back tears threatening to spill over, not being able to control one or two that made a trail down her face. She said nothing more, just nodded in agreement with Tenten.

"Come on," Tenten said. "Let's get going."

Ino nodded again and followed the other girl's lead out of the stall and back out with the rest of the crowd.

xxx

Meanwhile, somewhere along the outskirts of the woodland area that met with with the small metropolitan of Konoha, Gaara and Sasuke sat across from each other inside of a room that was off to the side of the main room in Kankuro's rented out hovel.

"With as little time given to me," Gaara began, "I was able to gather some information on the target's whereabouts at the moment."

Sasuke nodded.

"Now," Gaara went on. "There's always the most probable chance that they will leave their current position, which is why I have Kankuro tailing them as well. If he sees either Uzumaki or any of his entourage leave the area, he'll let me know."

"I understand all that," Sasuke said. "Where do I fit in with everything."

"It's actually a good thing that you're here," Gaara confessed. "The part you will play, is that of bait."

"Bait?" Sasuke questioned.

Gaara nodded. "Taking into consideration Uzumaki Naruto's personality, if he were to see you out on the streets tonight, there would be no doubt that he would confront you and demand to know why. If you were to get him to follow you into a secluded setting, it would be a lot easier to apprehend him and get him back here."

"I see," Sasuke said. "It makes sense to a certain degree that he would actually do something as foolish."

"Point exactly," Gaara told him. "Which is why it was impertinent to have his exact location. But also taking into thought of moving to a new place, and meeting with other friends, it's crucial to have tabs on each of his acquaintances as well."

"And when to we carry this out?" Sasuke asked.

Gaara opened his mouth to answer his question, but was cut off by the his cell phone going off. He put his hand up to excuse himself in a way while picking it up from the table surface and flipped the lid up, revealing Kankuro's name.

"Right now," he said, and answered the phone.

xxx

Nearby, Sakura and Chouji were about to meet up with Sakura's second date for the day. Chouji looked at the building oddly.

"A club?" Chouji questioned. "And a rave kind at that. How old is he?"

Sakura shrugged. "I dunno exactly. He's a young one. I know he's not as old as some of the others I've dated."

"Well that's fine and all," he said. "Where d'you want me to be?"

"Be somewhere where you can get a clear view of me," she told him. "It's okay if I can't see you, that just means that he won't be able to either. Anyway, I'll send you a text if I need anything."

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "I know how it goes."

"A little reminder every now and then doesn't hurt," she said. "You get in line first, I'll follow after some people get in after you."

"Want anything before we get in?" he asked.

Sakura rolled the thought over in her head. "Nah, I'm fine for now. Like I said, I'll text you."

Chouji nodded and turned away from her, walking towards the end of the short line. It wasn't like it was the hottest club to get into. Sakura waited a few minutes, watching as the line progressively got longer and made her way to the end.

xxx

"If you were a drug addicted girl that was going on several of these dating sites for money, where would you go?"

Shikamaru looked down at the stressed out looking blonde. "Why are you asking me?"

Ino shrugged. "I don't know. I just- I don't know where they could be."

"You spazzing out, isn't helping," he told her.

"I know," Ino sighed.

"Why don't you try hacking into her e-mail?" Tenten suggested and pulled her cell phone out. "Find out that way."

"I tired that," Ino told her. "I couldn't get in."

"So what do we do now?" Kiba asked.

Ino shrugged. "I don't know. We keep walking around, search the stores, maybe ask some more people for some clues or something."

"What about a break?" Shikamaru suggested.

"You want a take a break?!" Ino exclaimed at him.

"For your sake," he said. "If you don't take some time out to relax it'll only do us more harm that it would good."

"She's just worried," Tenten defended.

"I'm not saying that's bad," Shikamaru argued. "All I mean is that if she keeps stressing like this, it'll be worse for her."

Tenten opened her mouth to argue back, but Ino put her hand on the other girl's shoulder to stop her from saying anything. "He's right," she said. "I should calm down. So.. Where should we go for now?"

Kiba looked around them. "We could go in there," he said and pointed at an arcade. "Drinks, snacks, games, and we haven't looked in there."

"Well, I really don't care where we go," Shikamaru said.

"How does that sound?" Tenten asked Ino.

"That's fine," the blonde responded.

Their group made their way across the busy intersection and walked up the small way towards the arcade. It was noisy inside, even more so than the crowded streets they had just left, and it was warmer, most likely from all of the people that were inside giving off body heat.

"We're on break, right?" Kiba asked while looking around at all of the games that surrounded them

"Yeah," Shikamaru said. "Though we could-"

"Awesome!" Kiba cut him off and started to run off in a random direction. "I'm gonna find the DDR machine!"

"Should we follow him?" Ino asked.

Tenten shrugged and went off after him with Ino and Shino alongside, Shikamaru trailing behind them. The traveled through the aisle and different sections of the arcade before they finally found the machine, and to their dismay there was a huge crowd around it.

"Damn," said Kiba. "Gonna have to wait I guess."

"Who's playing?" Tenten asked no one in particular while approaching the game more. "Oh my God. Is that Neji?"

"What?!" Ino exclaimed in shock and went to stand next to her. "Neji so wouldn't play- Oh my God, he's playing DDR."

"Who's he playing?" Kiba asked.

Shikamaru peered over the heads of the crowd. He brought his hands to form a circle around his mouth and shouted, "Naruto!"

Naruto's head turned at the sound of his name. The sight of his friends had him stop moving his feet around on the directional pad and waved at them.

"Hey!" he shouted back. "Hold on!"

He turned back to finish playing, not even really noticing that Neji had taken the lead because of his small interim, but apparently not caring anyway. The song ended not long afterwards, Naruto showed a little displeasure in landing the same score as Neji but with lesser points. Both boys jumped off and made their way towards the other group, Naruto hanging back a little to wait for Hinata to remove herself from the rest of the crowd that had gathered to watch them play.

"What're you guys doing here?" the blonde boy asked.

"We're taking a break," Kiba informed them. "We've been searching everywhere for Chouji and Sakura."

Naruto tilted his head to the side in question. "Chouji and Sakura? Why're you looking- Oh! Why didn't you guys tell me, I told you I'd help out with that."

"Well, you and Hinata just got together, I didn't want to bother you with this stuff," Ino explained to him. "Let you two have some fun together before all this catches up on us."

"'Kay I got that, but still," he said. "I told you I wanted to help."

"Help with what?" Hinata asked him from his side.

"Chouji and Sakura," he told her.

It was Neji's turn to ask a question. "What about them?"

"That's right," Tenten said. "You guys don't know."

"What?" Neji asked again.

"Let's go grab a table where we can talk at," Naruto said to the group. "Tell them what's been going on and stuff."

"I saw an empty one back there somewhere before we started looking for the DDR machine," Shino offered.

"Lead the way," Ino said to him.

Shino turned and the rest of the followed. All of them had to make sure not to run into someone or other on their small journey

"So why's Neji with you?" Tenten turned to ask the couple.

"Because he knows me," Naruto told her.

"What?"

"Exactly, I don't know, he's trippin'."

Naruto laughed along with the rest of them but from the corner of his eye he spotted something that had him cut it off before the rest had stopped. He turned his head, but didn't see anything. Even though, he stopped and looked around, searching. And then he saw it again, but only briefly before he disappeared again behind a group of people in front of a game. Naruto started off in the direction to investigate further, but was stopped when he felt someone tug on his hand. He looked back to see that Hinata had stopped with him and grabbed at his hand before he even started to walk away.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he told her. "Nothing big, I'm just gonna go check something out, 'kay? Go ahead and go with everyone else, have them tell you and Neji what's been going on. I'll be back, I'll get back to you guys."

She looked at him oddly and let go of his hand. "Okay."

He leaned in real quick to give her a quick kiss and a smile. "I'll be back."

Hinata watched as he ran off in some direction for just a moment before turning back and rejoining the rest of their friends. Naruto went in the same direction that he thought he saw him walk in. Scanning his eyes around the surrounding area, he searched, even going back over some sections a second and third time before moving on. He was somewhere near the restroom when he saw him again.

Sasuke stood in front of one of the two emergency exit doors next to the men's room, going unnoticed by everyone having fun around him, keeping eye contact with the blonde boy standing in front of him only some yards away. In one move, Sasuke opened the door he leaned against with the heel of his shoe and went on, not breaking eye contact.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. "Hey!" he shouted and went after him.

Naruto rushed through the door and into the dark alley behind the arcade, not even registering the exit shutting close behind him. His entire focus was on the boy leaning against the brick wall across from him.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Sasuke smirked at him. "I didn't believe it at first," he said. "But you really are stupid enough to confront me like this."

"What the hell does that mean? What you doing here?"

Sasuke tilted his head upwards to view the blonde from beneath his bangs. "I'm bait."

Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

From the darker side of the alley, Gaara lifted his piece of equipment to eye level and locked in on his target. With precise movements, his finger on the trigger fired without fail.

Naruto let out a small noise and lifted his hand to the side of the neck where he felt the pin prick. He barely felt the tip of the needle in his skin before falling over and losing all consciousness.

xxx

Chouji was leaning against the side of the wall when his phone started to vibrate. He quickly pulled his phone out and opened the message he had received. Reading Sakura's message quickly, he flipped the lid of the mobile phone closed and made his way towards the direction of the bathrooms. He made his way through the sea of people that were crowded around the dance floor, making sure not to be in anyone's way while also making it so that no one was in his own. He was actually in a bit of a hurry.

'Wonder what's up,' he thought. 'Yeah we have this texting rule, but we've never used it before.'

It didn't take that long to get to their meeting point, in all actuality it shouldn't have from the very beginning. It was just the conditions of the establishment for allowing to many customers in at a time that made it seem like it would have taken longer because of such crowdage. In any case, he actually made it to the bathroom area even before Sakura did.

"What's up?" he asked once the girl made her appearance.

"Nothing really," she replied. "It's just... this guy makes me feel nervous."

"Do you want to leave?" Chouji asked.

"No, I don't think it's anything bad," she said. "It's just, he's so young and I guess that's what's making me feel kinda uneasy. I mean, what if he actually is trying to find someone on-line and not just doing this dating thing like all the other perverted old men we've conned before?"

"I don't think anyone young would buy into that whole finding love on-line crap," Chouji confessed.

"Maybe not," she said. "But those people on eHarmony make it seem like it works."

"Is that the one that Dr. Phil endorses?" Chouji questioned.

"I think that's Chemistry," Sakura answered. "Who cares, it's Dr. Phil. Anyway, I don't think this guy's up to anything, but I would still like to be on my guard, and I don't know why, but I'm feeling really hazy, like, really tired. Like I could pass out at any moment."

"It's probably from being sober for so long," Chouji considered. "We haven't slept for a coupla days now, you're bound to get tired some after something like that."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, that's most likely it. But anyway-"

"No problem," he interrupted and reached into his coat.

"You're gonna pull it out here?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"Sakura, in this club, it'd be weird if we didn't do anything out in the open. No one else is hiding the fact that they're doing this kind of stuff."

Sakura looked around her and noticed that he was right. Everywhere around her there was at least two people snorting something or placing some tablet or other into a water bottle and shaking it up for proper disolving. When she turned back to face him, a tablet of a different kind was laying flat in the palm of his hand.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Something new for ya," he said. "I took it from the hideout earlier. It's fine as long as we pay him back."

"Is it okay to take? I mean, safe wise, it's different from what you usually give me."

"Everything Kankuro makes is safe, he said so himself. And I don't think he'd actually cause anyone harm.

"Point there," she said and picked up the small chunk of compacted powder. "Do I just take it like a normal pill?"

Chouji nodded quickly. "Yeah."

Sakura turned the pill over between her fingers, almost in a very inspective like way. Whatever of any doubt that lingered in her mind was shrugged away with her placing the tablet in her mouth and swallowing it whole. She ended up closing her eyes with the inaudible gulp, keeping them closed and not moving an inch for several seconds.

"You okay?" Chouji asked her after not receving an imediate response from the girl afterwards.

Sakura reopened her eyes lethargically and looked straight into Chouji's. A small smile broke out onto her face.

"I'm great," she said. "I'm going back now."

"Alright," said Chouji. "Text me again if you need anything."

Sakura nodded and went back to her table. Chouji hung back some, not really needing to get back to anyone anyway. Languidly, he pulled out another tablet and automatically popped it into his mouth. After swallowing the pill, he began to walk from their meeting place, pushing through the mob of people on his way back to his look out spot. Halfway through his walk back though, instead of the usual high that he gained from the substance abuse he started to feel the exact opposite.

A sort of uncomfortable sensation settled in at the bottom of his gut. He faltered in step, stumbling slightly into a group of dancers on the edge of the floor. He apologized to them quickly and wobbled back over to his spot against the wall, throwing himself against it the moment he was close enough to. His heart started racing and his body started shaking, even his breathing was becoming erratic. In a few short minutes afterwards, he began to break out in a cold sweat, his vision doubling, and his insides felt like they were catching on fire.

'The fuck is going on?' he asked himself. He groaned and wiped away at his face with the back of his hands. 'It's hot... It's hot...'

He looked around at his surrounding, trying to locate a place that seemed cooler to him. Through his doubled vision he spotted the emergency exit near him. Chouji started to make his way over to the door but stopped himself from leaving the building completely.

'I should text her,' he thought and pulled out her phone. It took him awhile to focus on the touchpad, but he was able to distinguish the numbers after some time. 'Something wrong,' he typed. 'Bad trip. I don't know. Going outside through emergency exit. I'll be back.'

Chouji snapped the lid to his phone shut and barged through the door. The fresh gust of cool air helped him extremely as he stepped out and kicked the door close behind him. Chouji raised both of his hands to his head and used the bottom of his palms to press against his temples. The pressure elevated some of his symptoms, but he still wasn't feeling well.

'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?' The single thought raced through his head continuously. Despite the growing pain in his head, he went on with thinking up solutions.

"I shouldn't have taken it," he said to himself. "I shouldn't have... Wait... Maybe if it's out of my system, I'll be okay... But how?..."

He then saw the dumpsters located nearby. Chouji swallowed in nervousness, already guess at the obvious answer. He walked over and lifted the lid, placed his head oer the opening and flinched at the stench, the smell making his stomach turn. With his free hand, Chouji stuck a finger down his throat, pulling it out quickly the moment he felt himself regurgitate and allowed his stomach contents to come pouring out of him.

When his stomach no longer had anything inside of it, he pulled away, letting the lid shut down harshly. He doubled over a little, clenching at his stomach now that it was feeling sore, but in all honesty, he was feeling better now as a whole. He feel back against the brick wall and started to breathe deeply, calming himself down.

When he was well enough to walk again, he started off for the direction of the street. His walk still wasn't stable, but it was more so than it had been before. It took awhile before he reached the sidewalk, but when he did, he wandered off in a random direction. To Chouji's dismay, despite the late hour, there was still many many people still out wandering about as well in search of entertainment for the night.

For the longest time, he stumbled around aimlessly until he was far from the club he had left Sakura at, completely unaware of it. The walk did him some good though, his vision had come back to him normally, and his walk was improving with each step he took. His head still buzzed, most likely from the noise he was still surrounded by, and his stomach was still sore, but all in all they were misfortunes that he could deal with.

'A bad cut?' he asked himself. 'I can't believe Kankuro would actually let some of that get through. Nah, it was probably just my own reaction. Yeah... Maybe...'

His thought trailed off. Not really wanting to finish it off anyway. He continued with his aimless journey, twisting and turning in all direction, not really caring where he was headed off to. After some more time, he finally stopped and moved to the side so that he wouldn't be in the way of everyone else still walking along the sidewalk.

'I should get back,' he thought. 'I told Sakura I was only going out for-'

He cut off his own thought. Standing not that far away on the opposite side of the road, outside of just another ordinary karaoke bar, was Kankuro. Chouji's brow furrowed, he knew Kankuro's spots well by now, and was a little confused as to why he was around here. He pushed himself off from the wall and stood at the edge of the curb, taking the time to look both ways before crossing. He wanted to approach the boy, not only to ask what he was doing around here, but also to question the items he had taken from his base.

As he approached though, Chouji heard a ring tone go off and saw as Kankuro fumbled around with one of his pockets and brought out a phone. Chouji made his way to the other boy slower, deciding that maybe he didn't want to call attention to himself. With Kankuro becoming more engrossed with his call, Chouji was able to get near and duck into the connecting alley and hide around the corner. In his position, he was able to hear at least one half of the conversation.

"You got him though, right?" he heard Kankuro ask. "That's fine... The brown jar... The other one is more dangerous... But not right away!" Kankuro lowered his voice and turned slightly to the side so that passerbyers would not be able to overhear, but fortunately for Chouji he was able to. "Look, don't go overboard. I could care less how you kill him, but you have to remember that a coupla Uzumaki's friends hang around there too, and the last thing I need is for one of them to find evidence. It can't look like a murder scene when you're done... Then at least put a tarp down... With Temari, we're at a bar..."

Chouji didn't bother to listen to the rest of what Kankuro had to say. What he had heard was just a shock to him, he wasn't even sure if what he had heard was even right. Totally surprised by such a revelation, he walked backwards, even deeper into the darkness of the alley way behind him until he couldn't go any further. With his back up against the wall, he sank down to the floor, his legs tucked underneath him.

'What the hell? There's no way that he just said what I think he did. And if he did, there can't be anyway that he means Naruto. I mean, why would any want him dead? Why would anyone want to kill him? And why would Kankuro not care? This doesn't make sense. Or does it just not make sense to me? What the fuck is going on?!"

Not even really thinking about his actions, Chouji pulled out his phone again and pressed the speed dial number for Shikamaru's phone. Two rings later and he was connected to the boy.

He looked around for another exit, knowing that he couldn't go out the way he came because Kankuro had the chance of seeing him exit. He would probably even question what he was doing there, and then how would Chouji answer? Luckily for the boy, there was another way out. To the right, another connecting alley that led to the street that ran through the one he had crossed earlier. Chouji ran towards it.

He turned in one direction and started walking, not knowing where to go, or how to even stop what he thought could possibly be going on. His mind would not stop thinking of everything that could be happening at that very moment. He found himself asking what he should do once again.

'What do I do? What I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit, what do I do?'

"Chouji!"

Chouji's head snapped in the direction he heard his named be called. His eyes widened slightly in surprise to see Lee running towards him. Lee ran up to him and halted dramatically in front of the boy, resting his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

"Lee?" Chouji asked. "What are you doing around here?"

Lee stood straight up, fully recovered. "Chouji," he said. "Naruto is in trouble."

Chouji's breath hitched. "How do you know?!" he asked.

"I saw him. Earlier when I was looking for someone," Lee explained. "He was being carried by both Gaara and Sasuke. When someone asked about him, Sasuke told him that Naruto had drunk too much and they were helping him home. Chouji, Naruto doesn't drink. And at that moment it became suspicious to me, so I decided to follow them. But when I lost sight of them, I knew I could not do much on my own, so now I have just been going around to see if I could find anyone to tell this to."

"Lee, it shouldn't only be suspicious because Naruto doesn't drink, but since when has Naruto and Sasuke ever gotten along?"

"I did not think of that," the other boy confessed. "That just makes everything even more suspicious."

"Lee," Chouji said. "What you just told me made one thing very clear to me."

"What would that be?" Lee asked.

"Naruto is in trouble," he told him. "But it's worse than that, I think Naruto might die tonight."

"What?!" Lee cried. "Why?!"

"I don't know," Chouji said. "But we need to stop it some how."

"How do we do that?"

Chouji didn't answer him. ' From what Kankuro said on the phone, Gaara most likely took him to Kankuro's place on the outskirts. So I know where Naruto has the chance of being. Especially with it being closer to the downtown part. And if Naruto was already down here,' he thought. 'Then he had to have been with someone. And if he was with someone, then they would figure that he's missing too and willing to help. The more there is, the better chance we have at succeeding. But that would mean getting into contact with them. And that means there could be the chance that he was with...'

Chouji shook his head. "This is more important," he told himself. "Doesn't matter if I don't want him to worry over me right now."

"What are you saying?" Lee asked.

Chouji looked at him. "I think I know where they would have taken him."

"Really? That's great, we should get there fast."

Chouji shook his head. "If it's just the two of us, we'll get our asses kicked."

"Then what do we do?"

Chouji pulled his cell phone out and speed dialed Shikamaru's number. "We call for back up."

xxx

'Where am I?'

Naruto's first thoughts when regaining consciousness were nothing out of the ordinary. Anyone else in that position would have thought something along the lines of just that. As he came to, he could barely make out noise from the background. The faint sound of liquids bubbling, objects clinking against one another mixed with the distinct sound of voices muttering to each other and a chair scraping against the floor alongside the smell of chemicals and cigarette smoke wafted through his head.

The voices gradually became louder, but with his mind still a bit foggy, he couldn't recognize either of them. Naruto kept his eyes shut, trying to pinpoint his location with whatever other senses he could use, and to not give away he was awake. For whatever reasons he was here, it wouldn't have been for anything good. It was best to not let it be known he had woken up from his involuntary sleep.

Naruto first concentrated on his hearing, focusing solely on his ears and straining to hear anything of use, particularly the voices he had hear earlier. They themselves would be of great help to him by being the off chance he did know them. Unfortunately for him, whoever it was that had brought him here were not speaking anymore. That alone made him feel nervous, surely there had to be something whoever was here along with whoever was with him that they should be discussing. The lack of talk was unsettling for Naruto needless to say.

Coming to the conclusion that his sense of hearing was thus proven useless, he came to the other conclusion that anything would be just as useless. Thinking that through, he started to fidgit around in his seat as unnoticeably as possible. As it turned out, he seemed to have been bound to a chair. He flexed the muscles in his legs to test how tightly he had been bound, then moved on to test the ropes around his wrists, which were actually restrained more than his legs against the arms of the chair.

"He's awake," a voice said.

Naruto froze.

"He has been for awhile," the voice continued. "He's been pretending to still be knocked out."

'How'd they know?' Naruto asked himself. 'Wait, who are they?'

"If that's the case," another voice spoke out. "Then why don't you start your job already?"

Naruto's eyes snapped open at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps nearing him. However, he wasn't able to register the oncoming figure before a sold metallic object came crashing against the left side of his face, causing him and chair to fall over entirely due to the force of the blow.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut at the pain that was settling and beginning to numb the spot he was hit. It actually hurt more than was expected, the rope burns that were given to him on his wrists didn't help either.

"Seems like you have no problem doing that for me," the first voice said again.

Naruto let out a small noise caused by the pain unintentionally. He slowly opened his eyes a second time and forced his blurry vision to clear away so that he would be able to see who it was that struck him. His eyes travelled upwards and found that towering over him was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

"You!" he cried out.

Gaara placed his cigarette in the ashtray before striding over to the fallen boy and grabbed at his hair, pulling him from the floor along with the chair he was tied to. Naruto yelled out more from the surprise than from the pain.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the blonde shouted at the other, now more angry that he was frightened. It was only after shouting the statement, that he realized who he had shouted it to. And in that significant moment, Naruto's feeling of dread came creeping back on his ever so slightly.

Gaara picked up the cancer stick and inhaled before blowing the smoke into the other boy's face. Naruto closed his eyes and twisted his face against the smoke in a futile attempt to escape it, then moving his head back to it's original position.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he began. "In this life, people do things for inexplicable reasons. Or so it seems, the truth of the matter is those reasons can be extremely simple, that's why no one ever sees them. But for whatever reason an action is done, the outcome will always affect someone else greatly. Now, Uchiha's action of coming to me, will have the outcome of your death."

Naruto's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"And because he decided to have you go through a very torturous and painful procedure," he went on. "You're in for one helluva ride."

Naruto's brows furrowed and opened his mouth to object to everything, but was cut off before he could even begin as the first of the cigarette butts was crushed against his hand.

xxx

Sakura had to excuse herself again for the second time that night. Her patron was obviously annoyed by the matter and made sure not to hide it in any way. Apologizing a few more times, she stood from their table and nonchalantly rushed to the girl's restroom.

Unlike the one Ino and Tenten locked themselves in, this restroom was empty. No trace of any glitter, body spray, or make-up of any kind being reapplied because of inadequate spending and forcing consumers to buy lower brands that don't last the night. In any case, Sakura preferred it that way.

She diligently made her way to the sink and turned the faucet, running her hands under the cool water and using her moistened hands to dampen her face.

She was feeling strange.

Instead of the usual euphoric glow that she had usually experienced, the sort of pain numbing feeling she had come to love, it was an odd mixture of nausea, paranoia, and a bit of fear. In the privacy of the washroom, she let the shaking she had hid and stopped momentarily while in the presence of her current company go through their course. Soon her hands were trembling to the point where it wouldn't matter how hard she tried, there would be no way to hide it now.

She looked up from her hands and into the mirror to check her reflection. Staring back at her was not the image of herself as it should have been, but rather it was the image of herself staring back at her in a corpse looking form.

Her eyes were nothing more than a pair of empty sockets. Her cheeks sunken in and her skin a sickly yellowish pale, even parts of it collecting in folds where it should have been smooth. Her hair was limp and stringy, looking more dead than any other part of her reflection. Her jaw hung open slightly, showing a bit of rotten teeth. The longer she looked into the glass, the more real it became, even going as far as moving it's head back and forth on a pair of sagging shoulders and breaking into a terrifying grin.

Sakura shrieked in more horror than surprise, pushing herself away from the faucet and landing on the ground from losing her balance. She took a few minutes to calm herself before timidly bringing herself from off the floor and went back to the mirror. She shuddered slightly, seeing her true reflection but recalling the image the glass held not long ago.

It was because of that small memory that she began to feel nauseous, ready to heave at any moment. Slowly, she made her way to a stall and locked herself in. But as she twisted the lock, her legs buckled, and her vision started to darken.

'What the hell?' she thought and fell back against the stall door. 'Why am I so.. tired?'

Sakura sunk down to her knees and collapsed on her side.

xxx

Hinata was beginning to worry, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her that something was oh-so-very wrong. She didn't like that Naruto was gone for so long and without even fully explaining where he was headed did nothing but unsettle her all the more. And even though there was the possibility that he could have run into the other boys on his way back to their reserved table and stayed with them, she felt like he would have at least have run over to her and the other girls half way and shout that he would be with them. Her nervousness started to show. She started to tap her fingernails on the table's surface and bounce her foot up and down in rhythm with her tapping.

"What's wrong?" Tenten asked her.

Hinata looked over at her. "Naruto's not back yet."

"Is that all?"

Hinata shook her head. "I don't know why, I just, I feel like... I don't know."

"What is it?" Ino asked.

"It's like.. Have you ever gotten that feeling that something is going on but you're not really sure what? Like, an impulse to run somewhere and look for something, even though you don't now what it is?"

"Oh yeah," Ino said. "I've had that feeling."

"Well, I kind of feel like that right now," Hinata explained. "Like I can't be calm until I see him."

"He probably went to the bathroom and ended up staying somewhere with the guys," Ino told her, trying to give the other some comfort so that she would feel a bit more settled.

Hinata stood from her seat. "I'm going to go find them."

"We'll come too," Ino said and stood up with Tenten following suit.

The three girls left behind some of their less valuable items at the table to show that they were still there and went off in search for the others. They went through the aisles of classic arcade games first before moving into the more modern game section. It was there that they found the others, Shino and Neji watching as Shikamaru and Kiba stood side by side with plastic guns pointed at the screen in front of them and firing at zombies. Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Have you guys seen Naruto?" Ino asked as the approached them.

"He wasn't with you?" Neji asked them.

"We thought he would be with you when he didn't come back to the table," said Tenten.

"No, he hasn't come around any of us," Neji went on.

"Where'd he go?" Shikamaru asked while shooting a bullet through two zombies.

"Show off," muttered Kiba.

"I don't know," Hinata said quietly. "He didn't tell me. Just ran off."

"Why would he do that?" Shikamaru wondered out loud.

"Maybe he saw something interesting?" Neji suggested.

"He would've told me if he thought it was interesting," Hinata argued.

"Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise?" Neji suggested again.

"Then he would've come back directly to me," Hinata countered again.

"She's right," Shikamaru said and turned to them briefly while the game loaded up the next level. "He would've been back even faster if it was a surprise."

Kiba smacked Shikamaru's shoulder. "Pay attention."

While the two of them went back to the game the others continued their discussion on the disappearance of their friend. Even Shino was inputting his own thoughts. Neji even went to search the restrooms on Hinata's notion that Naruto could have been ill with something, which he only did because Hinata asked it of him. A few moments after he had left, Shikamaru's cell phone went off in his pocket.

"Can someone get that?" he asked. "It's in my jacket."

Ino was the closest one to him at the time and went ahead and picked it out. She flipped the top open and checked the caller ID. Her eyes widened at the name.

"Shikamaru," she gasped. "It's Chouji."

Shikamaru's finger faltered on the plastic trigger and ended up shooting Kiba's character.

"What the hell?!" the other boy cried out and slammed the butt of the gun against the machine. "You're damn lucky I have another life guy person thing."

"Give me the phone," he said sternly.

"We're still playing," Kiba reminded him.

Shikamaru pointed the barrel at Kiba's character and shot him down again. "Now we're not."

"That's so not cool," Kiba whined and slammed the toy down.

Ino handed the phone over to Shikamaru, who answered it as soon as it was in the palm of his hand.

"Chouji?" he answered, trying to hide how tense he was at the moment. "Naruto?... We're at that arcade by the movie theatre. Why?... Wait, Chouji."

He brought the device away from his ear.

"What happened?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru shrugged slightly. "He said something about Naruto but it was too fast. Then asked where we were and told us to wait here. That he was on his way. I don't know."

"Should we wait?" Kiba asked, now over his tantrum.

"Yeah I guess," he said and put his phone back into his pocket. "Let's get back to the table and wait."

The wait at the table was more tense than anyone there would have thought it could be. Hinata was tense because her boyfriend was missing and passed that nervousness onto her cousin who was worrying over her. Shikamaru was tense because this would be the first time he would be confronting Chouji in a long time. And because Chouji was connected with Sakura in a way, Ino was pretty tense herself. Their four nervous auras somehow spread onto the other three and soon the entire table's air was filled with suffocating electricity. So when Chouji and Lee finally came through the arcade door, it was a small relief for them all.

Shikamaru stood up from his seat.

"Sit down, Shikamaru," he said when coming up to the table. "Listen, you guys, I heard something about Naruto, but I don't know anything behind it so... I'm kinda hoping you guys could tell me if what I heard makes sense."

"What did you hear?" Hinata asked. "Was it about Naruto?"

Chouji nodded. "I heard that someone was going to kill him. Tonight."

xxx

Naruto's jacket had been removed, leaving him only in a flimsy T-shirt that would tear open alongside his skin with each swipe of the blade. He could feel the thin strips of blood trickling from each wound and stream downwards, staining his clothing and creating blooms of crimson against the orange fabric. Almost artistically in it's own morbid way.

So far, he had been exposed to first degree burns trailing up and down one of his arms, water boarding, and then a low form of electrocution. Now he was being subjected to a trial of many cuts being made all over his upper body with thin edged razor blades. He was put through all of this while having his arms bounded down with not only the rope around his wrists, but also with barbed wire as to not allow him to flinch at the contact of metal to skin.

Naruto was breathing shakily, and quite heavily by this time while forcing himself not to make any type of sound that would indicate the pain he felt. Which was more than just a lot.

His hair was matted to his face not only from the liquid that had been poured down on him, it was mostly from the sweat he had worked up from holding back every shout he wanted to let out with every electro shock that coursed through his body, from keeping his arms and legs from flailing about when he was being put through the sensation of drowning, and from the small pathetic whimpers he wanted to let out past his lips after each burn was made right after the other. Now, the only way he actually showed how much pain he felt was through the scrunched up way his eyes were closed and the way he clenched his teeth.

There was now way he was going to allow his tormentors to know how much pain he was in, or how afraid he actually was when thinking that he might actually really die this time. He wouldn't let them see his pained expressions or hear his tearful cries. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing how hurt he really felt.

This apparently angered Sasuke.

The Uchiha stalked over to the two and pushed Gaara aside, then pistol whipping the blonde boy for what seemed like the hundredth time already.

"Why the hell are you just taking it?!" he demanded to know.

Naruto turned his head and spat out blood that had gathered in his mouth. He turned back and smiled smugly at the boy.

"Because you want me to cry out, right?" he asked. "That's what you want and hell, if I wouldn't let you have Hinata what makes you think I would let you have that?"

Sasuke pulled the the trigger back and aimed the weapon at his forehead.

"I should just shoot you now and get it over with," he said.

"And miss out on the one thing you want?" Naruto asked mockingly. "Surely you're not gonna end everything without even getting that much."

Sasuke dropped his arm and Naruto tried not to show his relief. In all honesty, he didn't think saying any of that would buy him some time but still very thankful that it did. Naruto closed his eyes and tired to slow his heart beat down just by thinking for it to, when he opened his eyes again, it was just in time to witness Sasuke's fist collide with the bottom of his jaw, the force sending him to topple back and into the table covered with glass beakers and other fragile equipment.

The back of Naruto's body ended up being cut up with shallow wounds, but there were one or two pieces of glass lodged into his skin. The barbed wire dug into his arms, making them bleed more than anything else. It was the only time he cried out, though it was more from the surprise then from the pain, but he still winced at that and hissed slightly, unable to stop himself.

There was a pain in his head that caused him to be somewhat disoriented. He was unable to focus on everything at once, his senses were going a bit crazy. He looked up to see that Sasuke was going to continue with the beating, but was unable to hear Gaara command him to stop, and when he was able to hear a faint explanation, he was unable to see them. Naruto shook his head to straighten everything up and it worked to a degree. He was able to see again, but he was unable to hear clearly.

He saw Gaara lift a syringe and heard the words "heroin" and "acid" while pointing at the pistol he had given Sasuke to hold on to when they first began. He hearing came back at the end of the sentence, the part where he heard Gaara instruct Sasuke to put a bullet into his head when things got crazy. That was when Naruto started to panic.

"Can I just ask why the fuck you're doing this?!" he shouted when they began to approach them.

Sasuke lifted Naruto up from the ground and leveled his face with his. "I don't like you. That's why."

Naruto blinked and just stared ahead, completely stunned at the sheer simplicity of the reason. And even though he should have been a little more aware of his position, seeing as how Gaara was already snipping away at the wire around his arms and pulling them away before tying a rubber hose around one of them, he started to laugh. Laugh pretty much at just the whole thing, and while it seemed inappropriate, it was more stemming from the built up frustration.

"You've gotta be fucking with me," he laughed. "That's gotta be the most fucking retarded thing I've ever heard!"

Naruto locked eyes with Sasuke.

"You're so full of shit," the blonde went on saying. "You don't hate me, you envy me, and that's only because I have something you can never have."

Sasuke pushed Gaara aside once more and grabbed at Naruto's collar. "Why the hell would I be envoius of a piece of shit like you?"

"Because Hinata loves me," Naruto answered in a whisper. "And not you. And now that she knows who you really are, there ain't no way you could get her back. You should know that. Even with me gone, you won't get her back."

Sasuke was about about to bring the butt of the pistol back down on him a second time when the barricaded door came crashing in. Lee and Neji rushed in first, both going after Gaara before the red head was able to compose himself for the situation, thinking him to be the bigger threat. The rest soon came in afterwards. Sasuke pointed the weapon at them, stopping them all in their tracks.

Sasuke figured he would have the upper hand in the situation, but didn't know that Chouji knew the layout of the place from being there so often and was able to climb in through one of the backroom windows and make it into the main room where they were undetected. That being said, Chouji was able to attack him from behind. He fell forward, pinning Sasuke down on the ground with him, the pistol falling out of his hand and barely out of reach. With that, everyone else went into action.

Hinata and Kiba went over to Naruto. Hinata began to untie his bounds while Kiba took his jacket off and put it over Naruto, most likely to use as a makeshift wrap to stop some of the bleeding.

While that was going on, Gaara stayed put to make it seem like he would be cooperating with them, until he finally dropped the act and was able to escape his captors with few blows to them. The commotion caused a bit of disarray for the rescue team, making all of them drop what they were doing to help the other two keep the read head down. The distraction even made Chouji lose focus of keeping Sasuke down and the other boy was able to elbow him off and grab at the artillery in front of him.

With Chouji small shout of pain, Shikamaru was able to catch the scene, charging at Sasuke and grabbing at the arm the pistol was held in. Between the two of them it was a battle over the object. During the fight, Sasuke's arms was raised into the air and the trigger was pulled, going mostly unnoticed because of the silencer on the barrel. The bullet shot up to the second floor and into a filled beaker that had been left over a bunsen burner, the entire room catching fire in a moment of minutes and started to spread.

Sasuke pushed Shikamaru off of him and against an opposing wall forcefully, rendering him useless at the moment. Shino and Kiba tired to take control of Sasuke but were unable to stop him when he had spun and fired the weapon aimlessly in the direction he thought Naruto to be in.

It was like in slow motion. The bullet flying through the air, everyone's eyes on it, Neji shouting out for Naruto to pay attention, and the blonde boy himself pushing Hinata to the floor and throwing himself ontop of her as a shield. The bullet missed the couple entirely, shooting straight into a brown jar that had the label of some form of acid on it. The bottle cracked and broke into so many pieces and the liquid inside of it came crashing down onto Naruto's back.

This time, he did cry out in pain.

Hinata started to tear up then. Seeing him in so much pain already, and still willing to take more for the one person who means the most to him.

Kiba and Shino were able to get Sasuke to the floor while Shikamaru barked instructions for someone to get all items of clothing off of the boy before it reached his skin. Tenten and Ino rushed to Naruto and Hinata, leaving Gaara to the other boys and did just that. But while things seemed to have taken a turn for the better for them, part of the second floor came crashing down in flames, catching everything else in that room on fire.

Now, in a room filled with gas tanks and other highly explosive chemicals, it was only a matter of time before the enitre structure would explode with all of them inside.

Gaara knew the danger that was hurriedly approaching and in an adrenalin rush, shook off those that held him down and headed for the back rooms with the back door located there. Sasuke immediately did the same. While the others panicked unprofessionally, Ino saw Sasuke escape, and tailed after him, still feeling like she had unfinished business with him. Chouji called after her, but in the end followed suit.

Shikamaru took charge and was able to get most of everyone out of the building through the door they had come crashing in through, but when the flames grew higher, it proved to be more difficult. With the back room already cut off, they then started searching for different exits. Somewhere in the back there was a small bedroom with an even smaller window high from the floor. It was just him, Tenten, and Lee left

Lee laced his fingers together and gave Shikamaru a boost through the pane and immediately turned to Tenten.

"How will you get out?" she asked.

"Do not worry," he told her. "I will find a way."

"No," she said. "You can't do that."

"Tenten!" he shouted. "Take my help and get out of here now!"

Him yelling at her startled her and made her follow his command without question. Shikamaru caught her on the other side, and it was then that he realized he hadn't thought ahead for a way to get Lee out as well.

"Lee!" he shouted up to the window. "I'm going to look for somewhere else you can get out of."

"Shikamaru, this place will go up at any moment!" the other shouted back. "Just go! I will be fine! I will find a way! Take Tenten and go!"

Though the more logical side of his brain told him not to leave, Shikamaru did as he was told anyway. It was just an instict, but he followed it anyway, dragging the crying girl away from the fire and out of harms way just as it had gone up with a bang and a cloud of smoke.

xxx

Gaara pushed his way through the crowded streets. Now with the fire engines and police heading in the same direction he was running from, the sidewalks were even more packed with bystanders, the sirens attracting people outside. Despite the mass crowd of bodies, he never let up his pace, needing to find Kankuro and Temari, needing to let them both know that they had to get out of town and fast. He quickly recalled the name of the restaurant that Kankuro had told them they would be at, and hurried in that direction.

Gaara finally came to his destination. His eyes scanned the outside of the building quickly and rushed to his brother the moment he spotted him leaning against the wall next to a window.

"What's up?" Kankuro asked the second he saw Gaara rush to him, looking quite ruffled.

"We need to get out of here," the red head panted.

"I can't, I'm here watching out for Temari," Kankuro said.

"No, I mean we need to leave Konoha," Gaara told him in a stern tone.

Kankuro pushed himself from the wall and stood straight. "Why? What happened?"

"Not only did all of your hard work blow up," Gaara said. "But he got away. And not only that, all of his friends came to help, so they know. And... Uchiha took one of my pistols."

"Fuck," Kankuro swore and kicked at an imaginary rock. "Listen, go up ahead, get home as quick as you can and just fucking... start packing, I'll get Temari."

Not even questioning why he was following Kankuro's direction, Gaara made off for their house, taking off in a sprint. Kankuro didn't bother to look after his brother running and barged into the restaurant. Promptly ignoring all questions of whether or not he could be helped, he made for the table he had spotted Temari signaling she would be at through the window.

Temari was in midsentence when she saw Kankuro approach her table.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Kankuro didn't answer her, he reached and grabbed at her arm, pulling her from her seat and half-dragged her out of the building. Temari was stunned at her brother's actions needless to say and went along with his lead for awhile before regaining control of her body and began to protest.

"What the hell?" she cried. "Kankuro!"

Kankuro let her go and spun to face her. "We need to run," he said.

"Run where?" she asked.

"Gaara got caught again," Kankuro explained quickly. "The shack blew and there are too many witnesses. We need to get out of here. Tonight."

Temari buried her face into her hands and groaned. "Dammit!"

She brought her hands down and looked Kankuro in the eye. "Where's Gaara?"

"He's already headed back to the house," Kankuro said. "Come on, we need to go!"

He started to speed walk away, not really wanting to draw attention to himself by running off like Gaara had. Temari stayed put for a moment, letting everything sink into her so that the seriousness of the situation would take over and not have her think of anything other than keeping the remnants of her family safe and out of harm's way. Once that was settled, she reached down and took her heels off, and walked after Kankuro, even surpassing him in pace.

xxx

On the otherside of downtown, Sasuke himself was hurrying away from the site, still carrying the concealed weapon on him. Picking up his pace with every step he took, practically running through the overcrowded sidewalks and ignoring the comments made as he pushed anyone in his way off to the side. Ino was tailing him along with Chouji following her, calling out for her to give up the chase. Ino ignored his pleas and continued after the dark haired boy.

Sasuke ducked into the back alley of what appeared to be a nightclub to him. He ran straight down the back way until he could no longer hear the commotion from the main street. Coming to a gradual halt in the dimly lit area, Sasuke paused to catch his breath, hunching over slightly and resting his hands on his knees, the pistol now visible from beneath his jacket sleeve.

Suddenly, Sasuke's head turned at the sound of approaching footfalls coming at a fast pace. Only moments later, a clenched fist connected with the side of his face, throwing him off balance and tossing him down onto his knees. Sasuke threw his hands out in order to save himself from falling over completely, the weapon he had been carrying the whole time skidded out of his grasp and near the dumpsters lined up against the wall.

Ino wasted not a second with her attack.

Before Sasuke had the chance to bring himself up, Ino launched a kick towards him, the blow landing directly at his gut. Sasuke was forced to fall down onto his side. Because of the sudden impact, his head bounced off of the pavement, allowing Ino to grab a fistful of his hair while in midair and bring his face up higher, only to slap it back down.

Chouji ran over and pulled the girl away from the other boy. Ino struggled against him, so much that Chouji had to hold her back with everything he had.

"Ino!" he cried out to the girl trying to break away. "We can deal with him later! What about Naruto?!"

"Everyone else can help him right now!" she answered back in a hoarse shout. "I'm gonna beat the shit outta this sonuvabitch!"

Sasuke was on his feet by the time her last words were spoken.

In a flash he was on the pair, ripping Chouji away from the blonde girl and throwing him halfway across the alley to land with his back against the hard trash containers. Sasuke grabbed at Ino's arm and twisted the appendage behind her with one hand, and grabbing at her hair with the other, forcing her head back next to his.

"You stupid little bitch," he growled. "This is all your fault. Everything I worked so hard to get was ruined because of you."

Sasuke forced Ino back against the wall with a brutal push. Immediately, his hands gripped themselves around her throat forcefully. Ino's eyes widened as her struggle for air began. She tried to push him away, but Sasuke used her his height to his advantage, pushing down on her body while simultaneously adding more force to his grip with each passing second until her knees started to give. In a desperate attempt to take back the upper hand, Ino tried to have the boy loosen his hold on her by pounding onto his arms with clenched fists, only to find that she couldn't keep it up, not with her own arms feeling like lead.

"Chouji," she struggled to call out. "Chouji, help me..."

Chouji was frozen. He heard Ino's cry for help but couldn't move, unsure what he could possibly do. From the corner of his eye, he spotted something metallic reflecting whatever light it could gather off of it's surface. He quickly spun towards it and the realization of what the object was dawned on him.

Ino struggled to call out his name again, and without even thinking twice, Chouji picked up the pistol from it's position and aimed the barrel all the while placing his finger on the trigger.

Ino cried out again, "Chouji!"

Sasuke's fingers locked even tighter around her throat, Ino was unable to get any air at all now. Her face instantly started to lose all color and turn a blueish pale. Chouji closed his eyes as his finger moved back against the trigger, feeling the slight jolt of the pistol shot back as the bullet left the chamber and travel through the barrel, it's entire journey made unheard of by the silencer.

Sasuke's grip lessened, his arms fell away from Ino entirely as he staggered back from the girl. Ino collapsed to the ground, her legs weakened by the shock of the attack and lack of oxygen. As she gasped for air so that her breathing could return to normal, she watched in wide-eyed awe as Sasuke brought one of his hands to his side and touch his torso lightly, pulling it back only to reveal blood soaked fingers.

Chouji raced to Ino's side, crouching down by the fallen girl, and after seeing that she would be okay, turned to watch the consequence of his own action unfold before his very eyes.

Sasuke clutched at his wound and started to breathe deeply. The pain of feeling the lead explode within his body was painful enough, but the added pain of his internal organs bleeding and with the bullet skimming the outer of his stomach, the stomach acid began to seep into his body. He couldn't think, he couldn't speak, all he could do was feel his own body beginning to shut down.

Ino couldn't bear to look at him. She closed her eyes from the sight in front of her and clung to Chouji, burying her face into his chest. Chouji took the girl into his embrace as a reflex. In all reality, he could barely feel her clinging to him. His entire focus was on the slowly dying boy in front of him.

Sasuke's breathing started to become more shallow, his body colder. Looking over at the pair who were only a few feet across from them, he saw that Chouji was staring intently at him, an unreadable expression on his face, showing the world that he didn't know what to feel. In the end, it was somewhere along the lines of apologetic.

Sasuke scoffed at his non-verbal apology, if that was what it was. In any case, he wasn't willing to acept it.

Chouji watched on as Sasuke finally moved from his spot and began to walk away from the site as dignified as he could. Which didn't go to well, considering his injuries, yet, he made the effort anyway. Sasuke went down even further into the alley, limping slightly because his legs were willing to give out at any moment, and leaving a blood trail behind him. And after what seemed like an eternity to him, made it around the bend that connected to another alleyway outside of a different establishment and continued on with his journey that was soon coming to it's end.

Even Ino couldn't hide from the sound of the boy's body collapse onto the concrete floor with a sick thud. She clenched her eyes tighter, wishing that everything that had happened was only part of some sick nightmare and that she would wake up in her bed. Unconsciously, her arms snaked around Chouji's neck, wanting some sort of comfort. In that moment Chouji finally realized that he had Ino in hs arms. Though any romantic intentions were far from either one of their minds, he wrapped his own arms around her tightly, telling her in his own way that even though things turned out this way, they would be okay.

xxx

Sakura's eyes began to twitch underneath her closed eyelids. She scrunched them together while rolling over onto her back, the cold from the tile floor startling her slightly. With a low groan, she opened her eyes and started to sit up slowly. She brought her hand up to her head and took a look at where she was.

She was still in the bathroom stall she remembered coming into, locking herself in a stall and then feeling the urge to vomit, but never did. Instead just passing out beside the toilet.

Sakura stood up, her entire body a little shaky. She fumbled with the lock and stepped out, immediately regretting ever doing so. She felt too lightheaded, everything around her suddenly began to spin and she grabbed at the sides of the stall doors to steady herself. Her eyes closed again. Using some sort of sixth sense, she made her way to the sinks and twisted the knob. Her eyes opened again as she placed her hands beneath the running water and brought up what her hands caught to splash against her face. Sakura grabbed at some paper towels and dried her face off, starting to feel a little better. She reached for her cell phone to send out a text to Chouji, only to find that it was missing.

Before she was able to question the loss, her stomach started churning.

Sakura doubled over against the porcelain, feeling like her insides were twisting and collapsing within one another. Wanting to get home already and crawl into bed, hoping that the pain would subside if she was in an unmoving fetal position, she made her way to the bathroom door and exited the small space and back into the ongoing nightlife.

The pounding music of the club rang throughout her head in the most violent way possible. The flashing lights brought her dizziness back. Her stomach began cramping. Whatever it was Chouji had given her for tonight, it was definitley coming back at her. She pushed her way through the mob of people on the dance floor in a desperate attempt to get to the bathroom. No, she couldn't make it, it was too far away. Not far from her starting point, she doubled over and felt the water and bile come up and spew out. Ignoring the voices filled with both concern and complaint, she continued going through the dance floor.

The pain in her head continued to grow. 'Damn it all to hell,' she thought. 'Where the fuck did he go? I ask him to do one simple fucking thing for me and he off and dissappears. What the fuck?!'

A thought ran through her mind.

'He went out through the back exit didn't he? I don't remember. Did he tell me he was going out for some air? Something about a bad trip? Damn it all, what the fuck happened? I can't remember...'

She made it through the mob and staggered to the wall. She closed her eyes and let herself fall against it. She cleared her throat and winced at the pain.

'I want to go home... I think he went out... where the fuck is the exit...'

She used the wall she was leaning against to lead her towards the back exit. The lights began to make her eyes water. She couldn't see well anymore, the smell of everything and everyone heightened, only making her dizziness worse. The cramping sensation began again. She started staggering faster towards the door.

'No way in hell am I puking in here again...'

Sakura threw herself onto the door and let herself drop into the outside world. The cold night air certainly was a breathtaking relief after being trapped in that club for God knows how long. No time to think about that though, Sakura crumpled behind a dumpster and let out anything that could possibly be in her. Which in all actuality should be nothing but water. But in anycase, whatever was in her, all came out in seconds.

Coughing up the last of it, she wiped her mouth clean and sat against the wall. She kept her eyes closed and breathed in heavily. Once her breathing settled she stood up shakily, eyes still closed, and called out for Chouji.

No response.

'He came out didn't he? I don't know...' she started to cry. 'I don't want to go back in. I want to go home...'

She started to take steps forward. Small steps, that way there's less chance of her falling. She hugged herself in a futile attempt of keeping herself warm. With tears still streaming out of her closed eyes, she continued walking down the alley. She was doing fine until she tripped.

Her small shriek of surprise did nothing to protect her from the ground below. The concrete had scraped the skin across her left cheek and left both of her elbows bleeding. The fall caused her hair to fall out of it's updo and a noticeable tear was now left in her new dress. The pain and the scare made her cry all the more. She dragged herself away from where she tripped by only a few inches. She lifted herself to her knees and turned herself around to see the object of her accident.

She opened her eyes and rubbed the tears away. She forced her eyes to focus in the dimly lit alley. When they had, her eyes widened in horror as she gasped for breath before letting out a piercing scream that was heard throughout the downtown district.

xxx

Ino and Chouji both snapped their heads up at the sound of the scream.

"What was that?" Chouji asked hurridely.

Ino felt the same instictive feeling she had felt earlier. Without explaining herself, she shot up from her sitting position and took off in the same direction Sasuke had staggered off in. Skidding around the corner and running just a bit further, she could barely make out the figure sprawled out on the floor, not even a foot away from the dead body of their peer. Chouji, was behind her only moments later. He was the first of them to identify the person.

"Sakura?" he questioned, only loud enough for the three of them in their close proximity to hear.

Sakura turned to look at them, the other two unable to see the tears collected in her eyes because of the dim setting. Ino, went over to her and crouched next to her. Sakura, without a word, launched herself at the blonde girl and clung to her neck while letting out a strangled sob.

"What happened?" the pinkette choked out.

Ino placed her hand behind the other girl's head comfortingly. Before she was able to answer, the sound of people coming to investigate the scream she had let out not even a minute ago was heard. Ino pulled herself away from Sakura a bit forcefully, looking her straight in the eye after doing so and holding onto her arms.

"Sakura, we need to go," she said.

Sakura tried to ask something else but was cut off and hoisted to her feet. Ino dragged the girl quickly away from the scene, Chouji following behind them at a fast pace. They soon broke out into a run after another shout for help was heard.

xxx

Tenten was the one that ran away from the clearing and started back to the scene after the explosion subsided, and all that was left was the remaining wood and neighboring trees blazing with fire.

"Tenten!" Kiba yelled after her. "What are you doing?!"

"I have to find Lee!" she shouted back and kept running.

Shikamaru was the first one to hear the sirens coming.

"Why?!" he cried out. He turned to the others. "We can't be caught here!"

"But we didn't do anything," Neji told him.

"Yeah, we didn't," Shikamaru responded. "But who are we going to put the blame on?"

"Gaara and the rest of his family!" Kiba yelled. "It was him that brought Naruto hear! Fucking Sasuke too!"

"Do you honestly fucking think that Gaara would stick around after being found out by all of us?!" Shikamaru yelled back. "And it's not like Sasuke doesn't have the money to cover his ass! This is going to be entirely pinned on us!"

"So what do we do?!" Neji exclaimed.

While they were yelling back and forth at each other, Tenten started to investigate the scene as best as she could. The tears that began to blur her vision didn't help either. While going around the circumference, it became all the more obvious to her that there was no way Lee could have survived. She fell down onto her knees and broke down completely.

She was about to call out to the others when she heard the sound of wooden planks hitting each other, followed by a painful sounding groan. Tenten looked around everywhere, spinning in all directions for the source of the noise. She heard it again, wood clanking together as it was being thrown to the side and ran in that direction. She had to go more into the woodland area, making sure to avoid the parts of it that had caught fire from the even that had just occurred. A few more yards inward and she spotted him.

Lee was crawling out of some underbrush, pushing away pieces of the once proud standing building that had landed in the same place he had made a cover for. Tenten raced over and helped him up, instantly hugging him afterwards.

"I thought you were dead!" she cried. "Lee, I'm so sorry! I never meant to be so mean to you. I was just being selfish and stupid and I won't do it again."

"Tenten, that is fine and all," he choked out. "But you are hurting me."

Tenten let go of him and stepped back a little. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away," she told him while wiping away some of the left over tears. "I'm just happy you're alive."

Lee was about to say something to her but was unable to as the other members of their group began to call out their names in search of them.

"Are you able to walk?" she asked.

He took an experimental step forward and faltered slightly. "I may need some help," he admitted.

Tenten went to stand by him and took his hand up, putting one of his arms over her shoulder. "Come on, we need to get back to them."

The two of them walked back to the others as fast as they could. When they finally made it back, they were bombarded.

"Oh my God, Lee!" Hinata yelled out happily.

"Lee made it?" Kiba asked. "Thank God."

"Okay," Shikamaru said. "This just made everything a whole lot better. But we still need to get out of here."

"How though?" Neji asked.

"I saw Sakura's car," Tenten said. "Before we broke into the house, parked more outside of the area, more near to the road."

"That's great!" Kiba exclaimed. "We use to get out of here quick."

"Tenten, you need to lead us to it quick," Shikamaru said.

Tenten nodded and with her leading Lee, took them in the direction she remember seeing the auto parked. All in all, it was at least a ten minute walk back, they even had to hide from the arriving fire engine and police cars that made it into the clearing. When they made it to the car, they quickly figured out how they were going to fit in.

Hinata sat by a window taking it upon herself to have Naruto sit in her lap with his back facing out so that the burns on his back wouldn't have anything scraping against them. Neji sat next to her, squeezed next to Kiba and Lee. Shikamaru and Shino ended up sharing the passenger seat in the front while Tenten hot wired the car and took her place behind the wheel.

"Keep the lights off," Shikamaru told her. "And get out of here fast."

"Don't need to tell me twice," she said and pulled out.

Tenten followed a dirt road for the most part before finally pulling out onto the actual road, still driving with her lights off. She sped down the asphalt, not slowing down until she came upon the intersection that led back into the downtown district. Only then, did she gradually come to a halt and put the vehicle into park.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"You guys can crash at my place."

They turned and stared at the beaten down blonde boy that had spoken in a rough voice.

"All of you," Naruto went on. "It's fine with me."

"Dude, you're so fucked up right now that I don't think any of us were going to leave you alone," Kiba said.

"Kiba's right," Shikamaru agreed. "You're really messed up."

"'Kay, so I'll get us to Naruto's," Tenten said and put the car into drive again. "Shikamaru you should call Chouji and tell him."

Shikamaru agreed silently and pulled out his cell phone. While he was being connected with the other boy, Tenten drove on at a slower pace, not wanting to call attention to them. It really wouldn't have been a good thing to be caught in their condition and with all of them smashed into the piece of machinery like they were now.

Somewhere along the road, Shikamaru finally got through to the other line.

"Chouji!" he answered. "We're going to be heading towards- What?... Wait, what?... Are you guys alright?... Where are you?... We found Sakura's car and-... What?... Do you really need it?... Alright hold on."

Shikamaru flipped his phone shut. "Stop the car!"

Tenten screeched to a halt, almost making Naruto slam against her seat if Hinata hadn't grabbed onto him as well as she could to stop him.

"Tenten!" she cried out. "I know he said to stop but you didn't have to do that!"

"I'm sorry," the other girl apologized. "I didn't mean to. Really, I didn't." She turned to Shikamaru. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "Him and Ino are with Sakura and it sounded like she was in bad shape. He asked if we could pick them up."

"They won't fit," Kiba stated.

"I know," Shikamaru replied. "I know."

"Everyone who's injured can stay in the car," Shino said suddenly. "The rest of us who are perfectly fine can take the train."

"Fuck that," Kiba said. "My feet hurt."

"Kiba," Shino began. "Are you comparing your feet hurting to the wounds that Naruto is unintentionally displaying?"

Kiba pouted slightly in his seat. "No."

"Neji are you alright with that?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's fine with me," he replied. "There's a station not far from here anyway."

"I'll drop you guys off there first," Tenten said and started the car up again. "Then we'll go get the other three."

xxx

Chouji, Ino, and Sakura waited at the designated corner to be picked up. Chouji standing while Ino and Sakura sat on the curb, Ino holding Sakura the entire time, comforting while she cried.

"How is she?" Chouji asked softly.

Ino nodded somewhat. "She'll be fine. I think it's shock." She looked down at her. "Sakura."

Sakura sniffled and wiped the tears away from her face. She looked up at Ino.

"You'll be okay," Ino told her.

"But Ino," she said, "was that really.. Was it.."

"Yeah," the blonde answered, knowing full well what she meant. "It was."

"But why?!" the pinkette cried. "What happened?!"

"Sakura, we'll explain later," Ino said. "Right now, you need to calm down, we don't want to have everyone looking at us."

"I honestly don't think that's going to be a problem," Chouji inputed. "Everyone's heading down there."

Ino looked over at him. "How're you doing?" she asked.

Chouji looked back at her briefly before going back to keep an eye out for Sakura's car, not even bothering to answer her question.

"Chouji?" she pressed.

"I don't know," he said. "I really don't know.. how I should feel."

In that instant, Ino freed one hand and threw it upwards to clasp Chouji's. He looked down at her in surprise at the sudden skin contact. He questioned the action silently, not really sure wether or not she would even understand what he was thinking, but Ino returned his expression with a small smile, almost comforting in it's own way.

"You'll be fine too," she said.

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Ino-"

He wasn't able to finish whatever it was he was going to say to the blonde girl, Ino let go of his hand and helped herself as well as Sakura up at the sight of a car pulling up to the curb in front of them. The driver's window rolled down and Tenten put her head outside of the window.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go."

Shikamaru stepped out of the passenger seat. "You gotta be carefull," he told them and opened the backseat, revealing those inside. "Naruto's hurt pretty badly so if you push up against him, it'll make things worse."

"So how're we doing this?" Ino asked him.

"One of you goes up front with me and Tenten, the other two needs to squish in between Lee, and Lee needs to be carefull not to move Hinata in anyway because Naruto is in her lap and can't disturb the way we put him in."

"Did he get burned badly?" Chouji asked.

"I don't reallly know yet," Shikamaru answered. "But come on, let's go."

"Who's getting in the front?" Ino questioned.

"I'll go up front," Chouji said. "You go in the back with Sakura."

Ino nodded and pushed the fragile girl into the backseat, sliding in after her.

"Fitting two people in one seat," Shikamaru said while getting back into the passenger's seat. "Sounds like fun."

Chouji squeezed in next to him and slammed the door behind him. Tenten pulled away from the curb and continued to drive.

"Do you guys no what happened back there?" Tenten asked, turning her head to look at Chouji and then at the rearview mirror to see Sakura and Ino in the backseat.

"Yeah," Ino said. "But we'll explain later."

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked feebly.

"My place," Naruto muttered, making everyone look over at him.

"How're you doing?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm alive," he said.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Well, he's making jokes," Hinata said. "That's gotta be a good sign."

Sakura gasped slightly at the sight of the boy. "Naruto," she said. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing personal," he replied. "Just business."

"Okay, new rule," Shikamaru said. "Naruto's not allowed to talk until he can take his condition seriously."

"But if I were to take it seriously, I would just make you all worry all the more," Naruto argued.

"Naruto," Hinata called out quietly, causing the boy in her lap to turn his head towards her as well as he could. "You couldn't make me more worried than I am now. Not any of us."

Naruto sighed through his nose. "Fine. I won't crack jokes, or whatever I was doing."

"Lee," Tenten said and looked at him through the mirror over her. "How're you? Are you okay?"

Lee nodded. "A little sore still, but I am fine."

"That's good."

"That was pretty awesome though Lee," Naruto said. "I'm gonna have to hit you up on your escaping an explosion technique."

"What did I say about jokes?!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"I was being serious," Naruto defended. "It would be something useful to know."

"Shikamaru's just worried too, Naruto," Hinata told him. "And when could you possibly need that kind of information?"

"I don't know," he confessed and rested his forehead against her shoulder. "I'm tired of thinking."

"Just relax 'till we get you home," Tenten told him from behind the wheel.

Naruto grunted, acknowledging that he heard her words. After the somewhat strange conversation, each one of them tired to get comfortable in their positions to the best of their abilities and said nothing more to each other.

xxx

Tenten and everyone else in the car arrived at Naruto's home before the others. All of them exited the vehicle quickly, except for Hinata and Naruto. Shikamaru and Chouji both lifted the boy off of Hinata are carefully as they could, not wanting to cause him any more pain and able to do avoid any of that for the most part.

Hinata took Naruto's set of keys from his pant's pocket and ran up ahead of them, reaching the door first and unlocking it. She entered and flipped the light switch on. Ino, Tenten, Lee, and Sakura walked in after her while Shikamaru and Chouji helped Naruto inside. Ino told Sakura to sit on the sofa alongside Lee and instructed Hinata to find a loose shirt for Naruto to wear and Tenten to boil some water, just in case they would need when dressing wounds. She herself, went into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet, hoping to find something of any use there.

"In the kitchen," Naruto said as the three of them walked through the door. "If we go to the bathoom, it'll be too cramped, so just drop me in the kitchen."

Shikamaru and Chouji followed his words and directed him to the kitchen area and placed him down carefully in a chair.

"Why're you boiling water?" Shikamaru asked Tenten after spotting her at the stove.

"I'm just doing what Ino told me to do," she replied.

Ino came out of the bathroom and walked over to the others in the kitchen. "Naruto, do you have a first aid kit or anything like that? All I could find in the bathroom was iodine and alcohol."

"There's bandages and stuff in the bottom cabinent at the end over there," he told her and pointed in the right way.

Ino went over to the cabinet while Shikamaru told Tenten that the water didn't have to be boiled and to make it only a little hotter than lukewarm.

"Lee," Tenten called over to him while turning the stove off.. "Do you have any cuts that need to be cleaned up?"

Lee stood up to address her. "Ah, no, I do not."

"You should still come over here and get checked out," Shikamaru said while Ino set down the items she had discovered on the table next to him. He looked over her. "Why don't you go over with Sakura."

Ino nodded at him and took her leave, passing by Lee on his way towards them whole she went to make sure the other girl was okay. Hinata came out from Naruto's bedroom with a shirt in hand.

"This was the biggest shirt I could find," she said and unraveled it. "Would it be alright for him to wear it?"

Shikamaru looked over at it. "That's fine," he said while soaking a hand towel in the water pot Tenten brought over. "After we bandage him up, it'll be fine."

"You guys don't have to do all of this for me," Naruto said quietly.

"Dude, you have no idea how messed up you are right now," Shikamaru told him.

"Well I coulda swore I did," Naruto replied sarcastically.

"Naruto, stop giving him lip," Hinata reprimanded. "He's helping you."

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru," he grumbled.

"Stop acting like a baby," the other boy said.

"Can I help?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, some of these cuts haven't stopped bleeding yet," Shikamaru told her. "Can you get them to stop and just clean off the blood, I'm gonna look at his back." He looked over at Chouji and Tenten who were both going over Lee, making sure he wasn't in bad shape. "Chouji, fill another pot up with cold water, yeah?"

Chouji nodded and left Lee to Tenten's care, doing what Shikamaru asked him to. Hinata took the towel Shikamaru handed to her while he readied another one for the cold water. Hinata brought another chair up to Naruto and sat in front of him, lifting one of his arms and starting there.

"You should be careful," Naruto said to her. "You could blood on you."

"Don't worry about that," she told him. "I already did. It's not like I couldn't have on the way over here."

"I tired not to get any on you," he replied.

"It's fine," she assured him. "You can't see it anyway, since it's black."

"You can use one of my shirts."

"I was going to anyway," she confessed.

Naruto was going to laugh at her boldness, but instead cried out in shock. "That's cold!"

"Well what the hell did you expect?" Shikamaru asked. "You're back's like lobster red."

"You've got some scrapes," Tenten told Lee. "But that's it. You're actually very lucky."

"That's what I was saying earlier," Naruto said. "He's got awesome escaping explosions skills."

While Tenten focused on Lee's scrapes and Hinata began to clean out Naruto's wounds with iodine before wrapping them up, there was a knock on the front door. Ino stood up to answer it, revealing the rest of their entourage and moving aside to let them in.

"How's everyone?" Kiba asked upon first entering.

"Lee's fine," Tenten announced.

"This boy over here is pretty messed up," Shikamaru told them.

"Well I didn't think he wouldn't be," Neji said and walked over to stand behind Hinata. "Doing your best?"

She looked up at him and nodded. Neji smiled back at her and looked over at Shikamaru. "What about the acid spill?"

"Not as bad as I thought," Shikamaru said. "I think the jacket that Kiba threw over him took most of the hit."

"I'm glad to know my jacket didn't die in vain," Kiba joked.

"Man, that's not fair," Naruto complained. "Kiba gets to make jokes."

"Anyway," Neji said, interrupting anything that would have followed Naruto's comment. "Did any of you find out what that commotion was? I'm sure you guys passed by it if we did."

"Oh yeah," Tenten remembered. "There was like an ambulance and a bunch of people crowding around this one place. We saw it when we went to pick up those three. Didn't find out what it was though."

"It was a murder scene," Sakura said softly.

And even though she said it so quietly, it didn't escape any of their hearing. Ten heads automatically snapped in her direction.

"What?" Tenten asked from her spot.

"A murder scene?" Shikamaru questioned and backed away form Naruto for the time being. "Sakura, how do you know that."

"Becuase..." she trailed off and started to sniffle. "I'm the one that found the body."

"Sakura-" Ino tried to tell her something but was cut off.

"Whose body?" Kiba asked loudly, wanting to know himself.

Sakura wasn't able to answer though, she had begun to cry again. Ino placed her hands on her shoulders and tried to soothe her with comforting words, but didn't do very well with that.

"It was Sasuke's," Chouji answered for her.

This time ten heads snapped in his direction.

"Chouji!" Ino cried out his name from her seat.

"Whoa, hold up," Kiba interjected. "You two were chasing Sasuke weren't you? You guys ran after him after the explosion."

"Yeah, we did," Chouji answered.

"So, what?" he asked. "What happened."

"It doesn't matter right now," Ino said. "We can talk about it later."

"I shot him," Chouji said as a matter-of-fact.

The room went silent and no one made any motion. Even Hinata, who had continued with taking care of Naruto's wounds even when hearing the first comment of a murder, stopped and put down the hand towel.

"Chouji.." Shikamaru began. "You-"

Sakura pushed Ino off of her and stood up quickly. "How can you say that?!" she demanded. "How can you say that like nothing?!"

Ino pushed herself from off of the sofa and stood as well, grabbing at Sakura hand. "Sakura, you don't understand."

"What the hell is there to understand?!" the girl yelled. "He just killed someone and acts like it's nothing!" She looked over at him even walking nearer. "First you abandon me back at the club, and then you kill the one person I've ever loved?! What the hell kind of piece of scum are you?!"

"Sakura!" Ino yelled. "Stop it! Just shut up!"

"No!" she shouted back with new tears springing in her eyes. "I won't! And what about you! How can you be acting like it's nothing when you find out that one of your so-called friends is nothing more than a piece of murdering trash! A fucking fatass murdering piece of trash at that! That's right, Chouji! You're a fatass and it doesn't matter what you do because you always will be!"

Ino threw her arms around the other girls body, as though that would make her stop speaking. While Ino was trying to get Sakura to calm down, Chouji went over to the back sliding door and walked out onto the small patio, Shikamaru followed after him closing the door behind him.

"Chouji," he called out.

The other boy rounded on him. "I didn't meant to!" he cried. "I didn't want to!"

"I believe you," Shikamaru told him.

"It's just..." his voice faltered for a moment. "I really thought that he would've killed her. That he would've just choked out all of the air in her."

"Out of who?" Shikamaru asked.

"Out of Ino," he replied. "When we caught up to him, Ino started to hit him, she had the upper hand but... when I pulled her back, he started in on her. Saying he knew it was her fault that Hinata and Naruto were together and I thought he was really going to kill her since he couldn't get Naruto."

"So you did it to protect Ino," Shikamaru said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Don't tell me it's okay!" Chouji exclaimed. "I fucking killed someone!"

"Keep your voice down! I didn't say it was okay, I said there was nothing wrong with protecting your friend. And there isn't... I'll help you."

Chouji looked at him. "Why?"

Shikamaru looked slightly taken aback. "Because you're my friend. Why wouldn't I help you?"

Chouji looked away and shoved his hands into his pockets. "But Sakura-"

"Forget Sakura," he said. "She hasn't even grasped the concept that Sasuke played her or how much of an ass he was, but when she finally gets it, she won't be a problem."

Chouji said nothing. He walked over to the edge of the patio and gripped at the railing. Shikamaru walked over and stood next to him.

"What happened with the gun?" he asked him.

Chouji stayed silent for a moment. "It's in my pocket," he answered. "My cargo pocket."

"You kept it with you?"

"Yeah... I just stuck it there, I didn't even really know it was there until a bit later. Like, I realized it when we were waiting for you guys to pick us up."

Shikamaru inhaled. "Good. I'll be able to disassemble it and get rid of it. It would've been harder to cover for you if it had been left behind. Can't do it right now though, 'cause they might find it in the morning. I should probably wait a month or so."

Chouji looked at him surprised. "You were serious."

"Of course I was. Why wouldn't I be?"

Chouji scratched his head and even smiled slightly. "Shikamaru."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks.. For not giving up on me. 'Cause I really need help."

Shikamaru looked over at him. "It's not a problem."

xxx

Somewhere along the city limits of Konoha, hiding within the shadows, a small truck was being loaded with misshaped boxes and suitcases. Gaara sat patiently in one of two seats behind the front ones, waiting for his brother and sister to hurry up and get a move on.

"You switch the plates?" Temari asked while securing their luggage.

"Yeah," answered Kankuro and pulled out his set of keys from his pocket. "Come on, we need to hurry."

"Where are we going now?" she directed at him while opening the passenger side door.

"Right now we just need to get the hell outa here," he replied and got into the vehicle.

Temari followed suit and slammed the door behind her.

"We got everything, right?" Kankuro asked the two of them while adjusting his mirror. "Kinda wish we could've taken the furniture."

"More importantly," Temari said, "what about money?"

"Well now that we don't have to pay for anything here," he said while starting up the car, "we have plenty to spare."

"This kinda sucks," Temari commented while her brother pulled onto the pavement. "I kinda liked it here."

Both brothers looked over at their sister.

"Yeah," Kankuro sighed. "But we'll find somewhere better."

"I guess," she replied.

They drove on for some time in silence. Only broken when surprisingly enough, Gaara spoke up.

"Temari," he called out.

Temari looked back at him.

"Sorry," he continued.

Temari gave him a small smile. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

She turned back around and let out a small sigh. "Besides, you're okay and that's all that matters."

They went on in silence, the only sound that dared to be heard was the engine running, letting them all know that they would never step foot in Konoha again.

tbc. . .

A/N: Finally! Got this thing out and I've never been happier! Halfway through I was like, "Why can't you be done already?!". I swear I got carpal tunnel. Seriously though, I feel so awesome right now 'cause I finished. So yeah... that's that. How many saw that coming? Anyone? Um... I don't really know what to say. Sorry I took so long. I was supposed to have it out yesterday, but stuff happened, long story. Well, it's not really a long story, but I would end up making it a long story. Anyway...

Hali-chan: Well when I first put up HS, I thought it was like the universal initials for "High School" cause I saw some other fics with it. Sorry to mislead you, but I'm glad you're still reading and thanks very much for the compliment, I definitely won't take it lightly.

xxxturkey: Should've gone with the first instinct.

Next chapter is the kind of the aftermath chapter. So that's most likely not going to be very long, depends what I outline for it. Then the Epilouge, and then we're done. Fic's almost over! So then... I'm just gonna go. This chappy kinda took it's toll on me. Maybe I should take a nap. -yawn- That sounds nice. Ah... I can't. I have to get a start on my costume for AX already. I've put that off long enough. And there's only two months left. -Gah!- I'm at a bit of a crossroads though. I don't know if I should go as Hinata or Nekozawa-senpai. Actually, I wanted the troupe to go as members of the F4, but that didn't go down too well. Apparently I'm not the only one who's a Rui fan... I gotta figure something out before I end up as Momiji or Gaara again. Not that I don't love them, I just hate being repetitive like that. Or something, I dunno. Well whatever, it'll be solved soon... eventually... hopefully. So yeah, later lovelies, I'm out.

Beta's Note: Hello! Usually Salem's the one who acts as Beta but he's a little... well, weird at the moment. So today, Ms. Billie DeRange will be your final words. I'm not sure what I should say since I've never done this before. Well, let's see, um... Well, I had put some money down on Naruto for being the body in the end, but thinking about it, I'm very very glad he wasn't. Maybe that's why Salem's acting weird. In all actuality, the whole Naruto being beaten part was a little more than unsettling to read for all of us. Even more so when I think about it because I think that was edited to make it shorter. Or at least I'm hoping that was why. Well, doesn't matter I guess. So in conclusion, thank you very much for being patient with my sister and I hope this chapter lived up to all of your expectations. Gratitude is most welcomed in the form of a review. Ja ne!


	34. III, x

xxx  
Scene X: "Love like a shadow flies, When substance love pursues; Pursuing that that flies, and flying what pursues."  
xxx

It was in the early morning hours when they finally had been able to settle down and catch some sleep. While the girls were given the bedroom, the boys were left to make due with what they could out front. And even though the atmosphere was a lot more calm than it had been before, there was still that tense feeling being kept alive by just the aura given off by their sleeping forms. Stemming and ranging from Naruto's contorted position so that his injuries wouldn't become worse to Chouji slight fidgeting, signaling the beginning of his withdrawal.

The girls were in the same situation as well. Hinata's concern for Naruto took up most of her dream like thoughts, but somewhere pushed at the back of her mind was the ever growing stress of having to explain her staying out all night to her father. Even with Neji, there was no telling what would happen the next time they came into contact.

Tenten beside her was plagued with dreams in which her subconscious replayed the fiery incident, only this time with Lee not coming out alive. Many times her eyes would flutter open and she would creep over Hinata's sleeping form and peek from the door to make sure Lee was still there. Ino on the other hand went back and forth from Sakura to Chouji, now feeling more than inclined to help him out just as much as the pinkette next to her.

Yet even though each of them had something that they themselves needed to deal with, there was one stress related factor that all of them shared, that being the death of their peer.

Whether or not it was inevitable, was not the question there were asking themselves. The one concern for all of them was how to cover their tracks and wash the blood off their hands. Even though it was Chouji who pulled the trigger, all of them were in this together. A sort of musketeer "all for one and all for one" declaration. Help each other and protect each other, and in that way their chain of friendship grew stronger, but like with all chains there's always a weak link.

Sakura, by all means, was the most unstable out of all of them. There was no telling what she would do in her state of mind, or even to what extent she would go to. She was not only someone for Ino to worry over, but for all of them to take carefull consideration of before going off on anything. After seeing how she could be, it was noted that whatever would be said should be thought over a second time when in her presence.

In the end, what seemed like some sort of final conclusion, wasn't even that. There was still much to be done, many more things to solce before anything could return to normalcy (if it even could at this point). All that was really left for them was how to go about doing things. Making sure everything was done right rather than just easy.

xxx

The first thing Hinata had awoken to, was the sight of dangling feet. Slightly startled, she propped herself up onto her elbows and stared at the appendages before her. Hestitantly, she reached out her hand and with one finger poked at the ankle. A small surprised noise sounded along with the feet retracting upwards. A few moments later, Ino had climbed down from the top bunk and turned to look at Hinata.

"Did you poke me?" she asked.

"Yeah," the other girl answered and sat up some more. "I wasn't really sure what I was looking at. Did I scare you?"

"A little," Ino admitted. "Anyway though, how'd you sleep?"

"Pretty okay," she said while rubbing at her eyes. "Why? Didn't you?"

Ino shook her head. "Not really, kept turning about. But then I had to stop 'cause I didn't want to wake up Sakura."

"Is she still asleep?" Hinata asked and threw her feet over the edge of the bed.

Ino nodded. "Yeah. You guys fell asleep way before she did."

Hinata looked behind her to see that the spot next to her was empty. "What happened to Tenten?"

"She's up already," Ino told her. "I don't think she slept at all."

"What about everyone else?" she asked and stood up, stretching at the same time.

"There's all outside, I think they're all up too."

"How come you're not out there?" Hinata had to ask.

Ino shrugged. "I guess I wanted to make sure Sakura was really asleep and she'd be okay before I left her alone."

"Well she seems fine for now," Hinata told her. "If we check up every now and then, I'm pretty sure she'll be okay."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Should we go out with everyone else then?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Ino opened the bedroom door and let Hinata through before leaving the room and closing it behind her. Some heads turned to see who was coming out but quickly went back to the television that was turned on with the volume up. Both Ino and Hinata went to stand behind the sofa to join them all watching the set as well.

The channel was set on a news channel, the illuminated screen went back and forth from images that were live to images from last night when the news scene was still hot and cameras had first gotten there. The nine of them in the room watched in silence as the news caster described the events that had happened at the location and eventually to the victim. A new screen was pulled up with none other than Sasuke's picture. That was about as much as any of them could stand.

"Change the channel," Naruto said.

Kiba leaned forward and pushed at the "up" button. It didn't matter where he went though. "It's on every channel," he said.

"Then just turn it off," Shikamaru told him.

Kiba pushed the power button and sat back, leaving the all in silence so quiet that each of them was able to make out one another's breathing patterns. It stayed that way for more than just a few minutes

"So what do we do now?" Hinata spoke up quietly.

No one answered the question right away. The truth of the matter was that none of them knew what to do. The answer should have been easy enough. Keep your nose clean, watch what you say, watch who you say it to, and act as shocked as everyone else. But in reality, it's never so simple and trying to make it so, is never the right way to do things. Especially with as many loopholes they were given.

There were too many probabilities that left them open to suspect. From the story Lee had shared with them before anything had happened, he made it known that there were witnesses that saw Sasuke with Naruto. Granted, he was carrying him alongside Gaara, but it was still enough to lead it back to them, obviously. Then there were other situations. Like, did anyone see Ino and Chouji chase after Sasuke? Or, was the alley way really dark enough that no one could make out who was there? And what about the tire tracks leading away from the fire? What was the off chance of someone recognizing Sakura's car? In short, they had to come up with something to cover their tracks and cover them good.

Shikamaru sighed and leaned back in his seat. "First of all," he said. "We need an alibi. Nothing complicated, but nothing too innocent."

"What about just saying we had a party here after hanging out at a club and crashed?" Kiba suggested.

"That sounds okay," Ino commented. "But I don't know if it would work or not."

"It could work if we tweaked it a little," Shikamaru said. "Keep that in mind and we'll get back to it."

"More importantly, Shikamaru," Neji began. "What about the murder weapon?"

Shikamaru looked over at him. "Chouji still has it."

A small outbreak of startled "What?"'s went through the room that Shikamaru merely brushed off.

"There's a hot piece in my house?!" Naruto asked him increduously. "You can't just carry that around, can you?!"

"Will you relax?" Shikamaru directed at him. "It's not like we can't just get rid of it now, the cops are bound to find it now that they're looking for it. And anyway, I'll be getting rid of it when I think it's okay to."

"How're you gonna get rid of it?" Naruto asked again.

"I was gonna disassemble it and get rid of the pieces separately," he explained.

"Why don't you disassemble it and each of us will get rid of a piece," Tenten suggested.

"Wouldn't that just make us accomplices or something?" Kiba asked.

"Considering how we've decided not to let Chouji be caught," Shino voiced, "we're already part of it. And it's not as if we would only be in a certain amount of trouble if we didn't."

Ino looked around. "Where is Chouji?" she asked.

"He's outside on the patio," Shikamaru answered.

"Alone?" she questioned.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Obviously."

She looked over at the sliding door. "Is it okay if I go out there with him?"

Shikamaru looked at her oddly. "Why are you asking me?"

Ino shrugged and muttered, "I don't know."

The boy waved it off. "Just go," he told her. "Y'know Ino, you can be a spazz sometimes."

Ino ignored the insult and strolled over to the back door and exited outside. The rest of them stayed in their sporadic positions, some of them adjusting themselves so that they would face each other. Hinata moved from behind the sofa and took a seat close to Naruto who reached over and grabbed her hand while giving her a reassuring smile to easy the concerned expression she didn't even know she had on.

"Shikamaru," Shino said. "You spoke with Chouji last night, how is he handling the situation?"

Shikamaru let out a long sigh and leaned back into his seat. "Not so good, I think," he said. "I mean, he seems calm enough, but I think it really is eating him up inside."

"But it's not like he wanted to do it, right?" Tenten voiced out.

"I don't think that's the problem, Tenten," Neji told her. "

"And it's not like he probably didn't have other options," said Shino. "It was just first reflex."

"It's definitely gonna start eating him up inside," Shikamaru said. "There's no way it wouldn't."

"You think there's the chance he'd turn himself in?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru mulled the thought over in his head. "Probably. Though he might be more scared than anything, I'm not so sure. Right now though I'm more concerned with him going through withdrawal, the guilt'll come afterwards when he's sober."

"Take it that's when we'll have to watch him as far as turning himself in goes," Neji stated.

"Well we won't be able to let him do that," Kiba said. "Not if we're covering his ass, that'll make it worse."

"Why did things have to turn out this way?" Hinata asked softly.

"He did what he thought he needed to, to protect Ino," Shikamaru told them.

"What d'you mean?" Tenten asked.

Shikamaru rubbed at the back of his head before launching into the story he was told the night before. Focusing more on how Sasuke had channelled his anger onto Ino and was ready to take her life as a substitution for Naruto. Needless to say, they were more than a bit shocked at the revelation.

"That is..." Hinata began. "So wrong."

"That's a light way of putting it," Naruto commented.

"Anyway," Shikamaru said. "Before we go into anything else, we need to come up with a plausible story for each of us."

"Well, me and Hinata were at the movies, with Neji," Naruto said. "Afterwards we went to the arcade and that's when you guys showed up. Do we still have the ticket stubs?"

"Somewhere, I'm sure," Hinata replied.

"You guys can use that," Shikamaru said. "As for us..."

"We can say we were going to that show," Kiba told him. "'Cause that's true, that's were me, Tenten, and Shino were going when we ran into you guys."

"Wait a moment," Lee said. "The three of you were going in a group?"

"Yeah," Kiba replied. "Wait, what?"

"Y'know, Lee," Shikamaru started. "How did you get into this?"

"I was walking around the district when I saw Naruto with Sasuke," Lee explained. "That was when I knew something was amiss and went to find help. I came across Chouji and that was when he contacted you."

"That's cool then," Kiba said. "You can say you were with Chouji and Sakura."

"No he can't," Shino inputed.

"Why not?"

"Because of Sakura," Shikamaru said. "I'm pretty sure we know she's a liability. Her mind's so warped right now, we can't be too sure what she'll say."

"He's right," Tenten said. "That girl's pretty messed up right now."

"We can't be too sure what she'd say," Shikamaru went on. "And it's not like we can force her to say anything."

"So what are we gonna do with her?" Naruto asked. "We can't just ignore her, she could cause even more problems than before."

"I don't know," Shikamaru admitted. "We need to get her mind in the right state. We need to show her who Sasuke really was so she'll lose this prince like image of him."

"So it's like she needs to be reminded that her friends come first," Tenten stated. "Right?"

"Something like that," Shikamaru told her.

"That's not going to be easy," Naruto commented.

"No it isn't. But we'll have to get back to it later," Shikamaru said and turned to Lee. "Lee, you can say you were with me and Ino. As for Chouji.. it would've been easy to say he was with Sakura at a club or something before meeting up with us at the show, but with Sakura the way she is, don't think that'll work so easily. We'll have to come up with something new for him."

"Like have him with us?" Tenten asked.

"If it doesn't already seem too weird, then yeah I guess."

At that moment, Ino pushed the sliding door open and called out to them urgently.

"There's something wrong with Chouji!" she shouted. "He started to freak out and then he just collapsed!"

Everyone except for Naruto was able to spring up from their seat and rush over to the sliding pane.

"What's happening?!" Naruto called out while standing up at his own pace.

"He's going through withdrawal," Shikamaru announced while kneeling beside the fallen boy. "Someone help me carry him in."

Kiba stepped forward to help the boy out and carry their friend back inside. Ino walked back to the sofa quickly and cleared it off so that they would be able to lay him down.

"What's gonna happen with him?" Tenten asked.

"His body went into some kind of shock," Shikamaru said. "That's why he passed out right now, but when he wakes up, he probably going to start hallucinating soon. That might be a bigger problem."

"So what is we need to do?" Lee asked.

"During the hallucination, he's gonna be violent," Shikamaru explained. "We need to put him somewhere where he can't hurt us or himself."

"My room," Naruto said. "If we clear it out of everything that could be bad for him and stick him in there before he wakes up, that should be fine, right?"

"It's not going to be a one day thing," Shikamaru told him. "There's no telling how long it'll take. It might be just the weekend, but it could be longer than that."

"Look, it's okay with me," Naruto told him. "And if you try to do it anywhere else, nothing's going to stay quiet."

"Sakura's still in there," Ino reminded them. "What are we going to do with her?"

"You're gonna have to wake her up," Shikamaru told her. "Bring her out here."

"Maybe we'll be able to talk to her now," Hinata said.

"If she's willing to listen, then maybe," Ino replied. "I'll see if I can wake her up."

Ino walked over to the bedroom door and walked in. She went to the bunk ladder and climbed up halfway, only to find that Sakura was not there. Confused, she even ran her hand across the blankets just to make sure that she really was gone. Ino dropped herself down to the floor and looked around her. Only then did she notice that the sheet that had been tacked up was torn down and the window was wide opened. She ran back out into the living room.

"Sakura's gone!" she yelled.

There was a brief pause before all of them in their own way exclaimed. "What?!"

"She's gone!" the blonde repeated. "She must have climbed out the window."

Neji looked out the window. "Her car's still here," he informed them.

"The fuck is she thinking?!" Kiba exclaimed. "Dudes, if she rats us out, we're screwed."

"Kiba's right," Ino said. "We gotta stop her from saying anything, that's most likely what she's gone to do."

"But we can't leave Chouji unsupervised either," said Tenten.

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose to clear away the settling headache before calling them to attention.

"Alright, listen up," he said. "We'll split into two teams. One stays here and looks after Chouji, the other goes after Sakura."

"How do we split up?" Ino asked him.

"Since I'm guessing that the group that'll go after Sakura will split up," Shikamaru began. "It'll probably be best for everyone with a cellphone to go out."

"Wait, I wanna go but I don't have a phone," Ino said.

Shikamaru reached into his pocket pulled out his phone. He threw it over at her. "Take mine."

Ino caught it and flipped it open to turn it on. "You have like forty messages," she told him. "They're all from your mom."

"Forget that for now," he told her. "Who else has a phone?"

Kiba, Shino, and Tenten pulled out their phones to show him.

"You guys go with her," he instructed. "The rest here'll stay and look after Chouji."

No one argued with the arrangements. Ino's group prepared themselves for going out while discussing the locations they should check out for the missing girl. When they were ready, they rushed out the front dor and ran the entire way out of the park and onto the streets.

xxx

Ino and her team had been running around the city for over a few hours already and still haven't seen any sign of the missing girl. Tenten took it upon herself to stake out near the police station, just in case Sakura had decided to turn Chouji in. Kiba and Shino split up all of downtown and moved towards the business district, even though there was no reason for her to be anywhere there.

Ino on the other hand, had no real designated area to scope out, and because of that she had decided it best to look everywhere and anywhere after all thought up ahead places for investigation were checked out.

At the moment, the blonde girl was wandering around the lower section of the local neighborhood. After checking out the pinkette's home for the fifth time and finding nothing, she was feeling a little discouraged. But even with her morale down and her feet starting to get sore, she carried on relentlessly.

After checking in with everyone and their progress, Ino decided to travel down south of the city's main street. More than five minutes later, she found herself standing on the street corner across from their school. More importantly though, she found herself standing on the street corner across from Sakura standing in front of the school.

The blonde girl was at a bit of a crossroads. On the one hand, she was glad to have found the other girl, but on the other, wasn't entirely sure how to handle her, or even if she could. Ino took a moment to compose herself before crossing the boulevard and made her way over to her friend.

Sakura could hear the other's footsteps approach her, but made no move to run away or even acknowledge her when Ino had made to stand behind her.

"Sakura?" Ino called out softly.

Sakura still made no sound. She didn't even so much as budge one bit when Ino had spoken her name. There seemed to have been a pretty decent amount of time passing between them as they just stood like that, only broken when Sakura finally turned halfway, not completely facing the other girl. Ino stepped back some as a precaution for not knowing what to expect.

"Y'know.." Sakura began and then paused briefly. "I was standing right here in front of this gate on the first day of our first year waiting for you because I was so afraid of going in alone. And while I was waiting, that was when I first saw him.. And y'know, he actually looked at me while going in and I saw right then and there that he was everything I wasn't. With that one look I could tell he was perfect."

"Sakura, Sasuke wasn't perfect," said Ino. "If you want to know the honest to God truth, there's no such thing as perfection."

Sakura rounded on her angrily. "Then what the hell have I been striving for?!"

"Sakura, perfection is something that everyone has a different definition for," Ino told her. "You want to be something that you've set too high for yourself."

"So now I'm not even able to reach my own standards," Sakura said. "I'm completely worthless."

"Sakura-"

Sakura cut her off with a loud sob.

"Don't tell me that I'm not!" she cried. "All my life that's all I've ever been! That's all I've ever heard!.. And now from the people I called my friends, all they see me as is a liability! Am I that much of a problem, Ino!"

"Sakura, it isn't like that! We're just worried because we don't know whose side you'll take... I'm scared that you'll let your perfect image of Sasuke take over your common sense more than it already has."

Ino took a step closer to her. "Sakura, could you please just let me help you."

"I don't need any help," she muttered.

Ino sighed and lowered her eyes to the ground. "Then could I please just look after you? Could you please stop running away from me."

Sakura hesitated in answer. "I guess so.. I mean, since I've lost Chouji, I don't really want to be alone."

Ino smiled sadly and nodded, taking the offer she was given.

xxx

Those who stayed behind cleared out the bedroom quickly. Removing anything breakable or hazardous and placing the still unconscious boy on the bed. Naruto had said something about tying him to the bed posts for extra measure, but their time had run out, leaving them unable to even contemplate the idea. Shikamaru rushed them out and bolted the lock they added on the outside of the door shut. A few moments later and Chouji's nightmare began.

They could hear him, crying out, his hoarse shouts clearly stating that he was seeing something terrifying if not just unpleasantly horrendous. Those screams were quickly followed by loud pounding noises, as if he was throwing himself against the walls in an attempt to escape.

"Shikamaru," Naruto started but was silenced.

"Just let him get it out," the boy said.

"Is this really the best way to go about it?" Neji asked.

Shikamaru hesitated in answer.

"No," he admitted. "But it is the quickest, and we need him in a good state of mind."

"He must be seeing some pretty horrible things," Hinata commented.

Shikamaru stared at the door. "Naruto."

"Yeah?" the blonde responded.

"You know we won't be able to move him anywhere now, right?" he asked.

"Well obviously," Naruto answered.

"And you know that I'm not going to leave him," Shikamaru went on. "Right?"

Naruto chuckled lightly. "Don't make me repeat myself, Shikamaru."

"And you're fine with that?" he asked.

"I told you that I'd help out however I could," Naruto said. "I meant it. I don't care if you guys are here. But you better clear it up with your mom 'cause that's all we need is to have her sniffing around here."

Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at the comment. "Don't worry 'bout it, I'll take care of it."

Chouji's shouting had stopped, and the entire house was cascaded in silence.

"Should you look in on him?" Lee asked.

Shikamaru shook his head. "It's not safe to. We won't be able to look in until much, much later."

xxx

When Sunday came around, Chouji had improved significantly, but still wasn't all that well. As far as hallucinating went, it had stopped dramatically, but every now and then they would be able to hear him shouting followed by loud thumps sounding off immediately afterwards.

"You think maybe we should have just weaned him off it?" Naruto asked Shikamaru. "Ino told me that was what she was doing with Sakura with the whole getting her better thing. Just using the stuff that her and Chouji had saved up or something like that."

"Just 'cause that's the road Ino's taking with Sakura doesn't mean it'll work with Chouji," Shikamaru explained. "Chouji's been doing it for longer than she has it would take a lot more than with what they had left over. Cold turkey's probably the better way."

"Besides," he went on. "It's not like we can change things now."

Naruto nodded and went back to watching the door. "At least now we're able to let him use the bathroom by himself."

Shikamaru chose not to respond to the statement. Instead, he asked, "Is anyone coming over today?"

"Hinata is," Naruto answered. "With Neji. Everyone else should too eventually. I don't know about Ino and Sakura though. Why?"

"It'll probably be a good idea to go over everyone's story again," Shikamaru told him. "Just in case, y'know?"

"Yeah, I get it... You really think they could tie anything to us though?"

"With our luck? It'd be better to not take any chances. We still need to change the tires on Sakura's car too, just in case. But to do that without seeming suspicious to the parents, that'll be a problem."

"Told you to just slash them, say it was a hate crime."

"But then you'd have to make up a story to go with the hate crime. Look, it's okay for now I think, no one seems to be looking our way and we need to make sure it stays like that. I'm just saying, just in case, they should be changed."

"Hn... Makes sense."

Shikamaru looked the other boy over. "You haven't changed those bandages today, have you?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. Hinata's gonna bring over some more. Almost ran out yesterday."

Shikamaru nodded and sat back in his seat. "How're you feeling though? Any pain?"

"Some," the blonde answered truthfully. "Not as bad though. I'm healing up pretty fast. Lookit, bruise on my face is gone.. Well, almost."

The two of them ended their conversation and sat quietly, listening to Chouji's thrashing about in the room until everything became silent. Shikamaru stood up and went over to the door, unlocking the bolt, and taking a peek inside.

"How is he?" Naruto questioned.

"He fell asleep," Shikamaru replied and went in. A few minutes later he walked back out.

"What's up?"

Shikamaru went over to the kitchen sink and grabbed a cup, filling it halfway up with water. "He starting to heat up, it's probably dehydration."

Naruto was going to give him a response when knocking on the front door sounded. He gestured for Shikamaru to go ahead an attend to the boy and got up himself to answer the door. Hinata was on the other side alongside Neji, Tenten, and Lee.

"Ran into them when we were walking here," Hinata explained while entering the home. "How's Chouji?"

"The hallucinations are dropping," Naruto informed them. "He should be over it soon, give or take a few days."

"Ah, that is great news," Lee said.

"How you doing Lee?" Naruto asked.

"A lot better, thank you," the other boy replied. "And you, Naruto?"

"Almost," he answered.

"Here," Hinata spoke up and brought out bandages and other wrapping from a large tote bag she carried. "I brought bandages and some more ointments. I can re-wrap you up right now."

"Naruto," Neji called out for his attention. "Would it be alright if I used your phone?"

"Yeah, go ahead," he told him while being helped into a chair in the kitchen. "It's all yours."

"Who're you calling Neji?" Tenten asked him before he started dialing.

"Everyone," the older Hyuuga answered her. "There's something I need to tell everyone and it'll be better if all of us were here."

"What's going on?" Naruto asked while looking up at Hinata.

Hinata shrugged. "He wouldn't even tell me."

Naruto rolled his eyes and let Hinata re-wrap his wounds while talking with Lee and Tenten. Shikamaru came out not long afterwards with an empty glass and greeted them lethargically.

"Who's Neji calling?" he asked and put the glass down.

"Everyone," Naruto told him. "Something important to tell us but he won't until everyone's here."

Neji hung the phone up and turned to the rest of them.

"Kiba and Shino will be here," he said. "Ino and Sakura though, aren't coming."

"Does anyone know what's going on with those two?" Tenten asked. "I asked Ino if she wanted help, but said she was fine handling Sakura alone."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Hinata told her. "I'm sure Ino has it under control. Otherwise she would have asked for help, right?"

"I guess..." Tenten trailed off.

Lee placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry, Tenten. Ino is more than capable of handling Sakura."

Tenten gave him a small smile. "Okay. Anyway, Neji, are you gonna tell us or what?"

Neji sighed. "Why not? Okay, I overheard my uncle speaking on the telephone earlier. It turns out that the police will be questioning the students tomorrow to gain leads for investigations."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You gotta be fucking kidding me. This is gonna mess us up, we're not even sure if Chouji's gonna be okay for school tomorrow. If he's not there, isn't that gonna say something."

"Not if he's just out sick," Shikamaru said. "If he stops trippin' today, then there might be the chance that the rest of the withdrawal could pass off for just illness."

"So basically, it all comes down to luck," Tenten stated.

"Pretty much," he answered. "He's doing pretty good though, so there's a good chance it'll happen. Anyway, we should go over the alibi's, make sure their air tight."

Tenten let out a sigh and sat herself down at the table. "Guess we'll just wait for everyone then."

xxx

Monday came and there were no classes. The students were allowed to wander about the school until their year was called to the first level of the building to await interrogation. It was at the end of the day when the seniors were forced to wait. Naruto and the rest of the gang waited in their small group at the end of the main hallway with Tsunade's office, the room that two police officers were questioning everyone in.

They themselves weren't particularly worried as long as they told their stories without flaw, though with Chouji still absent, they were a little concerned with how that would appear, but on the plus side they would be able to come up with a story for him to tell them when he would be able to.

What made them all the more nervous though, was the fact that Sakura was currently being interrogated. They had no idea what she could be telling them, even though Ino said not to worry about anything, to give her the benefit of a doubt, they still couldn't help by fear the worst out of the situation.

The door to the office opened and Sakura soon stepped out. While another name was called out, she walked back to the group that was standing at the opposite end of the hallway. Ino was about to ask her question, but wasn't able to sound out a word.

"I didn't say anything," she told them all the moment she was within their hearing and out of everyone else's. "So don't worry about it."

"What did you say to them?" Ino asked her.

"I told them the story you gave me to tell," she answered softly.

"We didn't give you a story," Shikamaru said.

"Yes, you did," she said. "But then decided not to give it to me in case I became a liability. I heard."

None of them said anything, deciding it was best to keep quiet instead of trying to defend their words. It was pointless to anyway, seeing as how she had heard the whole conversation they had. Sakura looked them all over but settled her gaze on Hinata. In seconds, Hinata's eyes connected with the pinkette's. Sakura kept her eyes on her for moments more before looking like she was about to say something. But instead of saying anything, she turned her head and started to walk away. Ino immediately got up and started to go after her.

"I'll be back!" she yelled back at them.

"Well, you'll have to," Tenten called after her.

Hinata turned towards her cousin. "We'll be going up soon," she told him.

Neji looked over at her and nodded. "I know."

The minutes dragged by slowly. None of them bothered to start any kind of conversation and settled for the silence amongst themselves, which would have looked off had there not been other students who were shooken up from the current events and stayed quiet as well.

As the time passed, one by one they each went in and told their stories without fault. And though, they could have left the campus after their interogations, they went back to where everyone else waited for them and sat back down, showing that they would wait for all of them to go through the ordeal before leaving for the day.

When the moment came for Naruto to undergo questioning, he stood up from his seat and flashed them all a small smile that was unseen by others and walked into the room.

xxx

The office that Naruto had been in so many times seemed off at that moment. The atmosphere seemed a lot colder, the lighting wasn't as bright as he remembered, and it was like ever noise that was made was magnifide to a great degree.

"Take a seat," the first officer said to him while the second surveyed him from behind the desk.

Naruto walked over to the arm chair that was placed in front of the second officer and sat himself down carefully but not so much that it called attention to his still injured body. Once that was down he made himself more comfortable by sitting back somewhat and resting both arms on the armrests. He looked completely laid back, but his heart rate was steadily rising.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the second officer stated.

Naruto waited for him to continue speaking but when the man hadn't he furrowed his brow a little, clearly confused. "Yes?" he asked a bit unsure.

"From information we have gathered, it seems as though you and Uchiha Sasuke did not carry along with each other well, correct?" the first asked while shuffling through some papers.

"Well, yeah, I didn't like him at all," Naruto answered.

"You admit that honestly?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Some would consider it as good as a confession."

"Just because I didn't like him doesn't mean I wanted to kill him."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it wouldn't make sense to kill him," Naruto began to explain. "Okay, one, with my luck, I know I would be caught. Two, getting caught means, uh, I don't know, being locked up if not death penalty. Three, there is no way in hell I would ever get thrown into a cell for someone I hated. That just doesn't make sense to me. It wouldn't be revenge, it would just be like me getting my ass kicked again by the bastard."

Naruto had to stop himself from ranting. Any longer and he was bound to give away how nervous he was starting to become.

"That's quite a statement there," the second police officer said. "Tell us, Naruto, are you glad Sasuke is dead?"

"Of course not," Naruto told them. "No one deserves to die that young. It's like not even being given a chance."

The two officers stayed quite momentarily before attacking him with questions again.

"Where were you?" the first officer asked. "Friday night, the night of the murder."

"I was with my girlfriend and her cousin," he told them. "We went out to see a movie, then went to the arcade next door to it."

"What happened after the arcade?"

"Well at the arcade, a bunch of our friends showed up, it was getting late and since no one was up for a club or anything, we just went over to my place, I assume you already know that I live alone. Anyway, we went there because of that and just hung out there."

"All night?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"What time did you and your friends leave for your home?"

Naruto paused for a moment to think about it. "I don't know. I know we got outta the movie before nin'ish, but I don't really know after that."

"And you didn't see any part of the incident on your way home?"

"Actually we did. We all did, but just figured it was just another car wreck or something. Didn't hear about it 'till the next day when it was broadcasted everywhere."

The questions stopped and two officers spoke amongst themselves quietly so that Naruto wouldn't be able to hear. Naruto made himself look disinterested by letting his eyes wander everywhere, but at the same time straining his ears to hear their conversation.

"Right," the second one said while standing from his seat. "You can leave now."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I'm done?"

"Yes, you can leave."

"Please close the door on your way out," the first one told him.

Naruto stood up from his seat and made his way for the exit without seeming to overjoyed. He pulled the door to a close, but slowed it down towards the end so that he was able to catch snippets of a conversation starting up.

"What d'you think?" one asked the other.

"I don't think so," the other replied. "Honestly, I wanna check out this red head and his siblings that were missing."

"Pay a house visit later?"

"Most definitely."

Naruto shut the door behind him and walked back to the others. Hinata looked up at him questioningly, he smiled back at her warmly. Ino had already returned by that time and had taken up her original seat. Once again, they were encompassed in silence, even as Ino made her way into the room and came back out again minutes later. When they had seen her exit the room, they all stood up. Seeing as how she was the last one, they were prepared to leave the building together and back into the outside world.

"Looks like we got away with it, huh?" said Kiba after crossing the street and loitering on the corner. "Not letting them know anything, that is."

"Looks like," Shikamaru replied.

"After I left the room, I heard them say that they were gonna pin this on Gaara and his family," Naruto told them. "If they do that, they'll stop trying to sniff someone out here."

"If that happens, then there's nothing for us to worry over," said Neji.

Shikamaru let out a sigh. "I'm gonna go see how Chouji's doing," he announced. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"I should get home too," Tenten said. "Lee, are you going my way?"

"Um, yes," the boy replied. "I'd be glad to walk with you."

"Let's go then," she told him with a small smile.

"My shift starts soon," Kiba stated while looking at his watch. "Later guys."

"Sakura told me to meet her at her place," said Ino. "She should already be there, so I'm heading out that way."

"You leaving too, Shino?" Naruto asked.

Shino looked over at him and pushed his glassed back up the bridge of his nose. "May as well," he said and walked off.

"Doesn't even say bye," Naruto muttered and looked away.

"We should leave too," Neji told his cousin.

Hinata nodded and turned to Naruto who was looking back at the school. She called out to him.

"Naruto.. What's wrong?"

Naruto looked back at her, then back at the school. "Nothing," he said. "Just kinda seems a bit anticlimactic."

"What does?" she asked.

He shrugged and turned back to her. "Life."

Hinata tilted her head and looked at him with a small smile. "What else is new? Come on."

She reached out and grabbed at his hand as delicately as she could and dragged him away to catch up with Neji.

xxx

A/N: I wasn't really sure to put "tbc..." or "end.", so I opted for neither nn. Well, 'cause no it's not really the end yet until next week, but I dunno. Well anyway, I think I lost some people after the last chapter. The stats on the account showed that the number of how many times my fic's been favorite'd dropped. -sweatdrop- Ah well, what're you gonna do? I wasn't gonna kill off a good guy. That happens enough in real life, and even though originally I was going to kill one off, I just honestly couldn't bring myself to do it. And even though the reason behind that is a little biased and personal and shouldn't inflict the written product, I still couldn't do it. -cough- Anyway, don't have any reviews to reply to so guess I'll skeedadle out of here. Go and check out that new Naruto chapter. For everyone who's up to date on that, I totally called it. I knew it, I knew it was a reason like that, some way or another. Totally called it. Anyway, later much ya'll, take care, I'm out.

beta's note: Well I don't know about you but i'm glad Naruto didn't die. and really everyone should cause if he did noone would be reading this fic. Same goes for every other good guy. anyway... I just forgot where i was going with this... damn... whatever, I'm over it. Review! this fic is over or almost over can't really tell when the author doesn't make up her mind. --' I'm gonna go check out that new Naruto chapter to even though i'm not as excited. Two bets lost in one week. I should never go to vegas...


	35. Epilogue: Graduation Day

xxx  
Epilogue: Graduation Day  
xxx

Naruto either couldn't understand the words he was hearing, or just didn't really want to.

"What the hell do you mean you lost your job?" he demanded.

Kiba looked over at the fuming blonde casually. "Just that," he said. "Went in, and they fired me."

"Whadja do?" Tenten asked.

Kiba shifted in his seat. "They said they caught me on tape stealing something."

"Well what did you take?" Tenten continued to question. "It wasn't from then was it?"

Kiba shook his head. "No, it wasn't that. They said they caught me taking cardboard boxes."

At that point Naruto quit his fuming and started laughing. "What the hell Kiba? Why are you stealing boxes, are you making a clubhouse?"

"Shut up," he growled. "I wasn't taking any boxes. How the hell could I, it was my day off."

His words caused Naruto to laugh even harder, so much that he had to rest his head against the tabletop to calm himself down just so that he would be able to breathe again. By this point though, no one really noticed his antics since they as well found amusement in the Inuzuka boy's misfortune.

"Oh yeah, it's real funny," Kiba said sarcastically. "It's so damn funny that I have no job."

"Hell yeah, it is," Naruto laughed. "Who gets fired on their day off?!"

"Apparently this dumbass," Shikamaru answered.

"Ah, to hell with ya'll," Kiba said and threw himself back in his chair. "What didja want anyway?"

Naruto let the rest of his laughter die off before answering his question. "I wanted to see if you could get me a cape."

"A cape for what?" he questioned.

"I wanted to wear it to my first day of class," the blonde answered nonchalantly.

"Wait, what?" Ino asked from across the table. "You want to wear a cape to your first day of class? Why?"

Naruto waved the question off. "It doesn't matter. Now I'm gonna have to think of something new to do."

"How about you just act normal for once?" Neji suggested.

"I am acting normal," Nauto told him. "I'm acting my kind of normal."

The older Hyuuga boy rolled his eyes and looked away from him.

"I'm just surprised you actually took the entrance exam," Ino said. "What happened to college being nothing but a nursery?"

"Oh no, it still is," Naruto told her. "But I was thinking, if I keep working under Hinata's dad, I'll be working under Neji soon. And I gotta say, that kinda made me nervous."

"You act as if I would do horrible things to you," Neji said.

"It's not that," Naruto explained. "It's just, it'd be kinda weird to hang out after work with my boss."

"It's going to be awhile before he takes over," Hinata told Naruto.

"Yeah, I know. But still..."

"Well anyway," Ino said, taking control of the conversation again. "I never actually thought you'd go for more school, let alone go into political science."

"Look, if I'm gonna sell out," Naruto began. "Then I may as well do it in a field where I can tear the system up from the inside."

"That sounded so wrong," Kiba laughed and was instantly pelted with whatever left over food they had.

"You really think you could change something?" Chouji asked Naruto.

"Betch, I know I can," Naruto replied.

"A yes would've been okay too."

"If Neji's going to take over your dad's company, Hinata, then what're you gonna do?" Tenten asked her.

"I was thinking of going into Law," she answered. "The way I figure, if Naruto's going to pursue a political career, then if I study Law, I might be able to help him."

"I told her she didn't have to do it," Naruto piped in at once. "Told her she could do whatever she wanted."

"So what, you guys planning to be together forever?" Tenten asked them then gasped. "Do I see a wedding?"

The couple in question both flushed a dark pink and turned away.

"Aw, Tenten, you scared them," said Ino. "You're lucky they're not deer."

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"I was just asking," Tenten defended. "Can't help but wonder what kind of wedding they would have."

Ino tilted her head in thought. "That's true.. Well the main colors would have to be purple and orange."

"A sight for sore eyes," Neji comment.

"You gotta problem with orange?" Naruto asked him.

"Those two colors would clash," Neji went on saying. "Horribly."

Naruto turned to look at Hinata. "Y'know maybe we should start planning. I think Neji'd look great in an orange suit with purple trim."

Hinata's eyes widened momentarily before catching onto his scheme. "Oh, yeah. With a bright green collar shirt."

"And a yellow tie."

"And red shoes."

"Actually, I would like to see Neji in that," Naruto chuckled, and earning a laugh from everyone else as well.

Ino lifted her drink up to sip from, but immediately put it down after taking a glance at the clock hanging above their table.

"I gotta get going," she said and pused the beverage away. "Sakura should be getting out of therapy soon, I told her I'd pick her up."

"I never thought she'd go for that," Tenten commented while stirring her straw. "I mean, you saw how long it took for her to apologize to Hinata."

"But she did," Hinata said. "And that's all that matters."

"I'm glad you forgave her," said Ino.

"Well it wasn't as if I wasn't going to," Hinata told her.

Naruto threw his arm around her. "That's right, this little girl's gots a big heart."

"Anyway," Tenten said. "How did you get her to see a shrink."

"Well it wasn't that easy," Ino explained. "It wasn't until a month after she moved into my house that me and my family were able to convince her. I mean, the whole drug thing I was able to handle because I had control of that and it worked out pretty good. Lucky me, but as for her mental health, I don't think I could've helped her right."

"But she's getting better, right?" Tenten asked her.

Ino nodded. "She actually ate some of the food instead of just nit pick like she has been during dinner, so I guess it's going good. And she's been talking to me more, so I think she'll be fine. It'll be awhile but I don't think she'll have any relapses or anything."

"You know what messed her up," Kiba began. "Her mom."

Ino gasped dramatically and flung her hands up. "Oh my God, Kiba, really?" she asked sarcastically. "I had no idea what cause it all. Thank you so much."

"Shut up," the boy muttered and scowled.

Ino got up from her seat. "Whatever, Kiba.. Right then, I'm outta here. Later guys."

"You mind if I come along with you?" Chouji asked.

"Heh? No, come on," Ino answered and motioned for him to follow her.

Chouji stood up and turned to the table to make his own goodbyes before following the blonde girl outside. The rest of them waved the pair off and looked after them until they exited the building.

"Is there something going on with them?" Naurto asked.

They all turned to Shikamaru.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because you would know," Tenten told him.

Shikamaru sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. But I think there's the possibility that could happen."

"How utterly adorable," Naruto said. "I mean that, I'm not being sarcastic."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know about that, but if it happens he'll tell me."

"You think they'd be a good match?" Tenten wondered out loud.

"Do you and Lee make a good match?" Kiba asked.

"Why wouldn't they?" Naruto had to input. "He's possessive and she's demanding. Perfect for each other."

"Haha, very funny," Tenten said.

"Tenten," Kiba began. "He was like stalking you. Do you not remember what he had built up in his closet?"

Tenten waved the memory off. "Anyway, back to Chouji and Ino-"

"There isn't anything to go back to," Shikamaru said. "Something could happen and if it does, it does."

"You think she'd be able to handle him if they do?" Kiba questioned. "'Cause he still spazzes out and stuff."

"Those have been stopping," Shikamaru reminded him. "There not as often as they were at the beginning. But yeah, I think she'd be able to, she's the one that's helping him with his guilt trips."

"I thought that once all of his symptoms cleared up he'd be good to go," Naruto said.

"He's still fighting it," Shikamaru told him. "After that much abuse to his body, it's not like it's gonna go away like nothing. But he's gotten better and hasn't relapsed or anything, so I think he's doing good."

Suddenly, Tenten stood up. "I totally forgot, I got to get going too."

"Where're you off to?" Naruto asked.

"I told Lee to wait in line outside the theatre for good seats," she said. "Later guys."

"Should we worry about them?" Hinata asked once she left the table.

"I wouldn't," Shikamaru told her. "They're both crazy."

"Ah, Shikamaru," Naruto called out to him. "I forgot to ask, what are you doing now that school's over?"

"Going to same school you are," he answered. "You think my mom would let me stay in the house if I didn't?"

"Why don't you just move out?" the blonde asked.

"Because I'm kind of lacking something," the other boy answered.

"If that's the case," Hinata began. "Why not just move in with Naruto if you want to get out of your house so badly."

"Ah, but I wanted you to move in with me," Naruto said.

"But if I moved in with you," she told him, "then Neji would be all alone."

"He could move in too," Naruto told her.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "There's enough room. He can have the top bunk and we can share the bottom. I'm just kidding," he directed at Neji when had turned to him. Naruto leaned his head down next to Hinata once Neji had faced forward and whispered, "No, I'm not."

"As appealing as that sounds, I'll pass," said Shikamaru.

"Ah, Shikamaru's so mean," Naruto joked. "What about you Shino, all quiet back there."

"I'll be moving out of my home, as well attending the academy," the other boy responded in his normal tone.

"Where'd you get money?" Shikamaru asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you work."

"For the past two months I've been accumulating information on the events that occurred during our last year of school from everyone little by little," he started. "With that I was able to process it into a readable prose and sent it out to a publisher where it was edited and will soon be available to the mass public. With the estimated popularity it would receive, I am sure the royalties would be more than sufficient enough to live off of for some time."

"Is that why you were asking me all those questions?!" Naruto exclaimed. "I feel so used..."

"Shino, are you serious?" Neji asked him.

"Quite so," the boy answered. "All the world's a stage and we are but the players in them. And with a performance as entrancing as ours, it was only expected that one of us would come to the conclusion to use it for profit."

He stood from his seat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am expecting a letting in the mail. Seeing as how our celebration seems to be dying down anyway, I'll just be on my way."

The four remaining watched him leave their gathering in a quiet awe, only ending when Shino had left the building just like everyone before him.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Shikamaru wondered out loud. "He's right, I would've made some cash."

"Aren't you supposed to get some sort of consent from people?" Naruto asked.

"Not if he isn't using our names," Neji said. "If it's with characters of his own design, it's like he made up his own story."

Naruto threw himself back in his seat. "Whatever..."

"I should probably go too," Shikamaru said and stood up. "I still want to look for some work so I can start saving already."

"I'll come with you," Kiba told him. "Seeing how I need to find a new place too."

"Haha, Kiba lost his job," Naruto taunted. "In the most stupid way possible."

Kiba slapped the back of Naruto's head while passing him. Naruto twisted himself in his seat to try to get him back before he was out of his reach, but was unable to even touch him as Kiba dodged whatever blow Naruto wanted to land.

"Should we get going too?" Hinata asked.

"May as well," Neji answered her and stood up, making the other two follow suit.

The trio exited the small coffee shop and into the outside world, making their way down the cement sidewalks towards their respected homes. Early on in their journey, the phone in Neji's pocket went off, causing him to stop and identify the caller.

"It's your father," he told Hinata. "That's right, I forgot about the board meeting I was supposed to sit in, he's probably just calling to make sure I'm on time. Naruto, get her home."

Naruto saluted. "Yes, sir."

Neji ignored the blonde's mockery and went off on his own way, answering the call while doing so. Naruto and Hinata continued in their own direction, not really speaking of anything important, merely enjoying each other's company while walking alongside each other. That was until they came upon the wrought iron gating of the cemetery. For some reason, they both seemed compelled to stop.

"He's in there," she said, not needing to explain who she was speaking of.

"Yeah, he is," Naruto responded.

They stood perfectly still, rooted in their positions.

Hinata spoke up and said, "Do you think it's fair?"

Naruto looked over at her, but made no response.

"It just," she went on, "I know that underneath everything, he wasn't that great of a person, but did it have to end that way?"

"I'm pretty sure that if he was alive, he would've caused more trouble for us," Naruto replied. "But, I'm not saying he deserved, but I'm not saying that I'm gonna condemn Chouji for what he did either. God knows he's been on enough guilt trips, and he'll probably never get over it. Because now that he's had time to think about it, he knows it wasn't the only thing he could've done, but I'm not gonna call him on it."

"Neither am I," Hinata told him. "I'm just saying-"

"I know," Naruto cut her off. "I know what you mean."

Some minutes passed between them that were drenched in silence.

"It's kinda weird," Hinata started up again. "How fast everything went by. I swear, all this happened just last week."

"Time's like that though," he reminded her. "You know that."

She nodded. "I know. Still can't get over it though. It's like, I feel like nothing's really ended, even though it should be.'

"What're you talking about?" he asked her. "Of course nothing's ended, we're still alive aren't we? It'll be awhile before we can come to a real conclusion about anything. This year was like a small chapter of our lives, but the story's not over yet."

"So what do we do now?" she questioned.

"Keep going," he answered. "Keep moving forward and start a new chapter and start a new beginning. This time as adults struggling in a world obsessed with material goods waiting to corrupt any individual into conforming into every other mindless drone out there that follows what the government and all of their separated parties say to think."

"Sounds like some hard work."

"Without a doubt, being an adult's gonna suck," he said. "But, I guess as long as you're standing right there by me, I'm willing to go through anything."

She couldn't help but smile. "That was corny."

"I know," he moaned slightly. "That was pretty bad."

"Still though," she murmured slightly. "Seems kinda sad to just have to go on like nothing. Something tragic happened and we're forced to move on."

"Well," he said. "Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think."

Hinata turned her head to him and tilted if slightly. "Did you come up with that?"

Naruto looked back at her and smiled while shaking his head. "No," he answered. "I didn't come up with it."

"Well where's it from?" she asked.

He let out a bark of laughter. "A fortune cookie."

Hinata looked at him incredulously before breaking out into a laugh of her own.

"You're an idiot," she said once she was able to catch her breath.

"That's not very nice," he told her.

She reached out for his hand and pulled him closer to her. She tiptoed upwards a bit and gave him a quick peck on his lips.

"But you're my idiot," she told him and led him away from the site.

xxx  
End.  
xxx

A/N: Well... what a long strange trip this has been. And now it's all over.. Omg.. it's over? -gasp- It is.. I don't believe it. I actually finished a fanfic. I don't know what to say, I'm actually speechless... No, for real, I am... -cough- The fic is over! And.. I guess there was no real finality to it. Well, there really can't be. Because it's true, it was only a small part of their lives and you can't really end it when they're still living because there'll always be more to the story. Or something like that, I hope you get what I mean. Example... If anyone can give me an example that'd be great. I don't really want to use something from my own background so... Yeah... But anyway, it's like what Naruto said, it's not really over because everyone is still moving forward, and new chapters are starting. So yeah, it was kind of an open ended ending, sorry if that pissed some people off. And let me go ahead and crush someone's hopes for a sequel 'cause I'm not doing that. I told the part of the story I wanted to, and now I'm done. I kinda wanted to do something else with it, but no, I'm not. But anyway, I think it's a happy ending. Well, as close to a happy ending anyone's gonna get... ah, hell...

Anyway, before I leave there's a proposition I would like to make. Okay, so I'm pretty sure that there are some people who remember at the beginning with the big author's note, there was that skit type thing and then I did another one for an intermission. Remember? Okay, so, I wanted to have another one for the end of the play, it seems only right, or at least to me it does. But, instead of writing one myself, I thought it'd be pretty boss to see what all of you readers could come up with. So I propose a little competition of sorts.

Everyone and anyone is welcomed to send in skits of their own, and from all of them I will choose the best one in my opinion and post it as an extra super fun bonus chapter! There are no real rules, so you can send in anything really as long as it goes along with the kind of theme that the other two have. There are many ways in which you can send in a skit (I wouldn't recommend a review). If you want to send it through a PM, that would be okay, but make things a little more difficult to make out in my opinion. DocX inbox is a good way, though you'll have to tell me if that's what you plan to use so I can do that trust "connection" thing. Troupe e-mail or through my MySpace (just make sure to label the subject so it doesn't get tossed). Competition ends next Friday, where I will post it up for all to see.

Oh, and if anyone has any last minute questions for me, I'll answer them and post them up as well in the bonus chapter. Mostly because it's probably not even going to be that long anyway. Though that could be a plus if it is. And like always, people who are living with me, you can't play.

Okay then, that's all so... Omg the story's over. Sorry, I'm still not over it. I'm such a dork that way. n.n It's just... I've never finished a fic before, this is my first one. And really I think the only reason I did was 'cause I knew people wanted to see the end and through me setting up weekly deadlines so that people could see the end. So thank you, my reviewers for having me do that, and even to you, the invisible reviewers, thank you for your silent support. And hell, why not even to the guy who flamed me. Because apparently to a lot of people you're not a real fanfic author until you get flamed. So thanks for making me a real author. n.n 'Kay I should go before I make this even longer. So, later then guys, take care.

-Laith


	36. The Final Curtain ::Bonus Chapter::

Laith, "Hey, party people, Laith Weasley back for one final chapter, the bonus chatper."

Haldor, "I'm here too!"

Laith, "And my brother's here with me too since he didn't get to say anything in the epilogue."

Haldor, "By choice. But this isn't part of the story so here I am!"

Laith, "Yeah... Anyway, in case you're wondering why the funky format, well, remember I have this paranoid thing where I fear that someone'll report me for some stupid reason and get the fic deleted. This way it's kinda like chatspeak but not really."

Haldor, "And I came up with it." (happy)

Laith, "Amazingly enough that is true. So anyway, like stated in the last chapter, there was a sort of contest thing to see who could write the better skit and have it posted up. And out of a whopping three entries, we have a winner!"

Haldor, "Woot!"

Laith, "Yeah. Anyway, drumroll please. (looks over) Metaphorically, don't pound on the desk it's old."

Haldor, "Who buys furniture at an antique store?"

Laith, "I do, now shut up. The winner is... **xxxturkey**!"

(Confettie and balloons everywhere! And those twirly noise makers. Those are fun.)

Laith, "So here you guys go. Bonus skit thing by our winner and we'll see you at the end of it. Enjoy."

xxx

The curtain had been lowered to the floor and the troupe of actors and actresses were finished with their play, able to bask in the glow of a well finished production. But even in the confines of the evidently misnamed 'green room', the audience could still be heard applauding.

All the heads turned as the door stage door opened and a silver haired man sauntered through.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, are Naruto and Hinata still out there?" Sakura asked, moving her head from where it had been resting against the wall.

"Yeah, I think he enjoys the applause" Kakashi replied, a small grin evident through the mask.

"Tch, he thinks the whole story was all about him" Kiba muttered, though he was grinning too. Kakashi nodded.

"Nevertheless, the performance went well. Everyone did brilliantly" he congratulated. Nods and smiles broke out among the group.

"Still, it was a difficult task to play a stalker" Lee announced.

"At least you got what you wanted in the end; my incestuous love for my cousin was rejected" Neji countered dryly.

"At least you were attracted to a girl, I was gay. For Naruto" Shikamaru pointed out from his stretched out position on the floor. He opened one eye and noticed the look he was being given.

"Not that there's anything wrong with being gay… but… still…" he muttered.

"Don't worry Shikamaru-san, I was gay too. We were gay together!" Sai smiled down encouragingly at the boy on the floor.

The room fell silent as each and every person in the room attempted to suppress laughter, and failed. With the exception of Shino.

Chouji wiped his still watering eyes as the laughter died down.

"Playing a drug addict was pretty tough though, I'm just glad I managed to survive…"

"You think you all had it tough, I was a…" Tenten trailed off.

"Whore?"

"Prostitute?"

"Sex trade worker?"

"Hooker?"

"Call girl?"

"Lady of the night?"

"Lady of the night!?" Tenten fumed, turning to the Hyuuga genius.

No response.

Tenten glared at each and every contributing male in the room and then fell silent.

"I had to deal with Sasuke-kun's death" Sakura pointed out, turning mournfully to the boy in question.

"I was the one who actually died" he pointed out levelly.

"He wins it" Shikamaru's voice stated from the floor.

There were a few moments of silence.

"Wins what?" Ino questioned.

"It" Shikamaru repeated.

"Which is…?" Temari posed.

"Why do I always have to deal with explaining everything?" the lazy boy protested.

"Are you gonna answer?" both blondes chimed in. Shikamaru sighed.

"Nope, not this time" he replied wearily, as the stage door burst open.

A wave of noise entered the room, along with Naruto dragging a slightly stunned yet incredibly happy Hinata.

"Hey! Can you hear that? They love us!" the blonde enthused as Hinata joined him at his side.

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei! Can you hear that?!" he asked excitedly. Kakashi only nodded, a smile still on his face. Naruto's expression suddenly turned a little nonplussed.

"What's with the silence? What were you guys talking about?" he wondered.

"Oh, just how Tenten's a who-" Sai started, before Sakura slammed her palm to his mouth.

"We were saying how some of the acting was hard!" she exclaimed, praying Tenten hadn't heard the tactless boys words. Naruto nodded.

"I guess it was hard for you to act like a teacher, huh? Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto joked.

"Hmm" was the only response.

"I bet it was hard for you too Hinata?" Naruto asked, this time more seriously.

The indigo haired girl found no response available from her mouth; she only stared at the blonde in front of her.

"Y'know, I was beginning to think you being in love with me wasn't an act" he admitted with a grin.

"…" Hinata managed, words catching in her throat.

What silence there was in the room seemed to deepen. Behind Naruto, Sasuke reached for the lamp on the table beside him. This time, he had been prepared.

"Ah well. She looks great though right?" he asked almost rhetorically, blind to the dark stares he was getting from ninety percent of the room.

Sasuke's fingers closed over the lamp. Now he just had to…

"We're gonna go back out there!" Naruto announced, dragging the now madly blushing girl from the room again.

"Damn" Sasuke muttered as the door swung shut, muffling the sounds coming from the stage.

"Idiot" Neji stated flatly.

"That's not even the half of it" Sakura added.

The volume from the stage increased further. It seemed they had returned to the limelight.

The room stayed silent, each person contemplating the depths of Naruto's denseness.

But slowly, a noise from the stage seemed to filter through the walls, capturing the room's attention.

"Is that… chanting?" Kankuro wondered aloud.

"What are they saying?" Sakura asked.

"Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss" Gaara intoned. The effect of having the redhead repeat the words was a little unnerving, before mass realisation dawned on the actual meaning behind them.

A few seconds passed, followed by sounds of cheering.

"They're cheering" Kiba stated.

"No shit" Sasuke replied with a grin, slipping his hand away from the lamp.

xxx

Haldor, "I like the part where they come up with names for TenTen."

Laith, "Oh so sure you would have."

Haldor, "What that supposed to mean?"

Laith, "Misa, just because you didn't win doesn't mean it wasn't good. You did a great job with what you tried to do. Other guy, I don't really know you, but you did a good job too. And thanks, but I didn't really technically make my MySpace."

Haldor, "Our sister did. Girl's insane when it comes to making MySpaces. Almost broke my arm 'cause I said she couldn't mess with mine."

Laith, "But she can do cool stuff with HTML codes and stuff like that."

Haldor, "Yeah she can, but I still don't want her touching it."

Laith, "Whatever. Anyway, there weren't any questions but there were annonymous reviews so we'll just take this time to answer those."

Haldor, "First review is from: **Yo**. Dude, that's legit.

Laith, "Don't use legit that way! I hate it when people do that."

Haldor, "You don't say anything to Madge when she does it."

Laith, "(rolls eyes) Anyway.. First off, thanks for the review. Glad that you liked Naruto's character so much. Awesome for me to hear that."

Haldor, "You only say that because Naruto's-"

Laith, "(smacks him) As for the character development, that was a major must to do since I admire that more than anything else really. And I would write a One Piece fic, but I've never really seen a complete episode or actually read any of it. It's on my "to do" list, but when I get around to it, I probably will write a fic."

Haldor, "(rubs face) You already talked to Misa so the next review is from: **Paco**. Don't you have a cousin named Paco?"

Laith, "Cousin, uncle, and grandfather. Probably more than I know, it's hard to keep track of everyone... Anyway, Paco, I'm pretty sure you're not the only one who would've wanted to punch Sasuke in the balls."

Haldor. "Mofo should've had plunger stuck up his ass."

Laith, "(doesn't know whether to laugh or what) Uh.. (ends of laughing) What?"

Haldor, "You know in Friday-"

Laith, "I know, just.. whatever. Anyway, wow, two days? Didn't think it would take that long to read it. Happy you did though, and of course, thanks for the review."

Haldor, "It took Benji six days to read it."

Laith, "Yeah, but that's Benj. Anyway, next review."

Haldor, "Uh... Next review is from: **fester06**."

Laith, "Sup, Fester? I know, I have the knack for writing more AU fanfiction than actual canon."

Haldor, "Well is you want canon-"

Laith, "Merry, not here. Anyway, very heartwarming to hear it's beleivable 'cause that's exactly what I wanted it to be."

Haldor, "Well how the hell was it not going to be believable? Everything except for the whole "love" thing was everything that we-"

Laith, "(smacks him again) Let me just say, thanks again for everyone who read this 'till the very end. You reviewer rock, and even you guys who didn't rock."

Haldor, "You would've gotten more if you asked for them."

Laith, "I'm not a review whore like someone I know."

Haldor, "That was cold..."

Laith, "Anyway, later guys. Hope to see you around later on with my new fics."

Haldor, "You already published another one. WIthout even telling me!"

Laith, "It was a spur of the moment thing."

Haldor, "Shouldn't you not be doing another fic already?"

Laith, "Well yeah. What with that one collaboration project thing and the CD contest with me and Bills."

Haldor, "What about me?!"

Laith, "What about you?"

Haldor, "What about the fic that we were supposed to do together?"

Laith, "... Oh! I forgot all about that."

Haldor, "(cries in the corcer) T.T So not loved..."

Laith, "It's not that, just... can't we put that off for later? Besides, you haven't even finished that chapter for that other fic of yours."

Haldor, "I'm getting to it..."

Laith, "Work on those, let me catch up with all my stuff, and then I'll write it with ya."

Haldor, "Fine.."

Laith, "So yeah, that's it. This is like the final end chapter thing. There won't be anything else after this. Kinda sad, but we must keep going. So 'till next time, take care and mad love."

Haldor, "Keep representin'."

Laith, "Will you stop acting like that? You act like we're in a ghetto of something."

Haldor, "Um, have you not looked around?"

Laith, "It's not that bad."

Haldor, "We've been in better."

Laith, "Yeah, in Nevada. Here though, we've been in worse."

Haldor, "True. We're closer to Whittier now."

Laith, "Yeah, but now that kinda scares me."

Haldor, "Are you talking about that thing on YouTube."

Laith, "It scared me. Honestly, if I see something like that start to happen, we're going to Canada."

Haldor, "I'd rather go to France."

Laith, "Well whatever, we're leaving the country. Swear, made me want to start looking into dual citizenship already."

Haldor, "You're paranoid."

Laith, "I am, but sometimes that's not a bad thing all the time. Anyway though, for those who don't know what the hell we're talking about, on YouTube there's a new channel with a series called "2009 A True Story". If you haven't already checked it out, you should, it so kopacetic, no word can adequately describe it."

Haldor, "You just used a word."

Laith. "Shut up. Anyway, that's it here. I got to go already and pick up my contacts."

Haldor, "'Cause she doesn't want to wear her Mangekyo ones anymore."

Laith, "They're not meant to be worn everyday. And people won't stop staring at me."

Haldor, "That's why I told you to wear the Hinata ones."

Laith, "I had to reorder tham because they weren't prescription. Look, it doens't matter, I got not new ones today. So who cres?!... So yeah, again, take care, and I'll see ya guys around the site hopefully."

Haldor, "Later."


End file.
